Ensuring Ukraine's security to prevent a recurrence of Russian aggression can only be achieved through a strong army, an invitation to NATO, and security guarantees from the United States. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview during the telethon "Unified News."
"When we talk about a just peace — it means a strong Ukraine. It involves serious security guarantees to prevent Putin from coming back with aggression. It requires a strong army, not the 40-50 thousand that Putin is counting on. We understand that with such an army, he would destroy us, occupy us, and there would be no more independent Ukraine…
A just peace for us means understanding when we will be in the EU. It means having robust security guarantees, and NATO is the best option…
If not NATO… I would prefer not to pass the ball regarding alternatives at this moment. Certainly, any security guarantees without the United States are weak guarantees for Ukraine," the president stated.
As an example of strong security guarantees, Zelensky cited the model of cooperation between Israel and the United States, where the Americans, along with their allies, help repel Iranian missile strikes.
"We must have actual weapons, a real army, and a genuine package of long-range capabilities that will stop Putin. It will stop him in fact, or he will know that you possess it, and it will work preventively…
I believe you have heard about President Macron's initiative to deploy a French contingent on Ukrainian territory. We support such an initiative, but one France alone is not enough. We would not want it to be just one or two countries when it comes to this initiative. It definitely should be on the path to NATO. This does not mean that the deployment of European forces excludes a future in NATO," Zelensky emphasized.