Any post-war peacekeeping forces in Ukraine must include American troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg.
“[A peacekeeping contingent] can’t be without the United States,” Zelensky said. “Even if some European friends think it can be, no it can’t be. Nobody will risk without the United States.”
Zelensky expressed confidence that Donald Trump could secure peace but noted that such peace would only be possible if Washington provided Kyiv with long-term security guarantees. These guarantees, he said, could take the form of NATO membership or the presence of Western peacekeeping forces.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a few days ago, Zelensky also stated that deploying peacekeepers would be crucial to preventing another Russian invasion. At that time, he estimated a minimum of 200,000 peacekeepers would be necessary.
In his interview with Bloomberg, Zelensky clarified that the figure of 200,000 was more symbolic. He explained that the actual size of the contingent should roughly correspond to any reduction in the Ukrainian Armed Forces the West might suggest. “If we reduce [the Ukrainian army] by 200,000, 300,000, or 500,000, it will mean that other forces in the same numbers will be needed to replace them,” he said.
The idea of deploying a peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine has been discussed in the West for several months. French President Emmanuel Macron has been a prominent advocate for the initiative, and U.S. President Donald Trump has also expressed support. The governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy have indicated their willingness to contribute troops to such an effort.
While the Kremlin has not outright rejected the idea of European peacekeepers in Ukraine, it has emphasized that, in Moscow’s view, it is still too early to discuss such measures in detail.
