Ukraine has told the US that accepting curbs on the size of its armed forces or on its military's overall readiness would be a red line as President Donald Trump strives to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has said he wants the size of Ukraine's army to be limited, adding that Kyiv must drop its ambitions to join NATO and that Moscow must control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own.
“This is a principled position of Ukraine no one, and certainly not the aggressor country Russia, will dictate to Ukraine what kind of armed forces Ukraine should have,” Ukrainian official Pavlo Palisa said.
DAILY POST reports that Palisa is a deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office and was part of the Ukrainian delegation that met US officials for talks in Saudi Arabia last month.
Palisa added that a well-prepared Ukrainian military would be Kyiv's best security guarantee against new Russian attacks if and when a ceasefire or peace deal is reached.
“I can guess what the Russian Federation is guided by maybe they want to prepare, to make it easier for themselves in the future, but no. Our task is to learn the lessons (of the past) well,” Palisa added.
It will be recalled that during a first meeting with US officials in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US, after which Washington resumed military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv following a brief pause.
However, Russia said crucial conditions needed to be worked out before a ceasefire could be reached.
The sides then separately agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy facilities but have since accused each other of flouting the agreements.
