"I don't trust Putin": Zelenskyy tells what security guarantees for Ukraine he discussed with Trump

During a conversation with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a ceasefire at the front is impossible without security guarantees, as Russia cannot be trusted. If the United States does not want Ukraine to join NATO, such guarantees may be different, but more expensive – in particular, in the form of deploying 100,000 foreign troops on Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskyy told reporters about this during his working visit to the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday, February 13. In particular, he said that during a conversation with Trump, he pointed out the danger to American troops in Europe.

"I said, there are your American brigades, these are NATO troops, and they are on the territory of Europe, and if there is a quick invasion – and if it happens, it will be quick – your military will fight. And we cannot talk only about profit, because financiers say, what is the profit, the interest? I tell him: just save the lives of your people, because there are about 100,000 American troops in Europe and they will fight, and not all of them will survive because it is a war and because they are "Russians," Zelenskyy said.

He called the phone conversation with Trump good. It lasted almost an hour, the President of Ukraine said.

According to him, "we talked about many things" and the United States is "impressed with our actions, the actions of the military and people, civilians."

"We did not talk about NATO. I told him that without security guarantees it (the ceasefire – Ed.) is simply impossible, and he said, I think publicly, that he thinks Putin wants peace, the end of the war, and he said, 'I know you do too. I said, "Yes, but you are talking to Putin as the leader of the Russian state, and I am talking to you and I think of him as an enemy. And I think I'm in a bigger reality, and that's why I said I don't trust," the president said.

Zelenskyy added that he does not believe that the war can be ended easily, so Ukraine needs security guarantees:

"If you, we really believe, can force him to end the war fairly for us, thank God, but I don't really believe that it is easy to do. And that's why I said that security guarantees are a priority for us, and we don't see any guarantees without you. Let's talk about what they are. I know that the Americans don't want us to be in NATO, frankly, and it will be very difficult for us."

The President added that there had already been a temporary ceasefire in this war – a "food or product truce," "a corridor that is essentially a siege on the water in the Black Sea," and the Russians broke it.

"We agreed with Turkey and the 'Russians' that we would have it, and they still disrupted it. That is, they will disrupt everything in any case, so we can't do it without security guarantees. What are these security guarantees? NATO? Strong weapons, missiles? Nuclear weapons? Some kind of deterrent package. Or, as I said, do we build NATO in Ukraine? And then NATO will be here – real weapons from you, a contingent from the Americans, Europeans, not 5-7 thousand, as they once said," Zelenskyy told reporters.

He said that he had given the military a task to "count and show the points."

"We have drawn a map. If anything, we have everything ready, in principle, I can talk about it in Munich, well, yes, not very openly, but we need 100 thousand people there. Well, we're not talking about five thousand. And if we talk about the army, we are talking about a 40 billion deficit. And today, everyone is helping to make sure that we have these 40 billion. This is an army with 110 brigades and 800-plus thousand people. And if we have Russia across the street and the fact that they are increasing by about 150,000 in 2025, it means that we will need to increase by one and a half times. That is, if we take 40 billion in deficit, and almost the entire budget is defense, then we need to add about 15-20 billion to 40," the president said.

He emphasized that security guarantees in the form of accession to Ukraine are a cheaper option:

"So what is cheaper, NATO or this? If it's this, then okay. I think that our people will be satisfied if Ukraine has an army like the NATO army in Europe today. Because in principle, there are 82 brigades there, and we have 110, and we will have an army twice as big as the army of Europe. I think this is an option. Although I emphasize once again, NATO is cheaper."

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on February 12, Zelenskyy had a conversation with Trump. According to the Ukrainian leader, they discussed "opportunities to achieve peace," readiness to work together at the team level, and technological capabilities, including drones and other modern production.

The day before, Trump said that Ukraine was "unlikely to return" all of its territories, and called a return to the 2014 borders "unbelievable." He also said that he did not see a threat in a direct dialogue with Russia without President Zelenskyy's participation and supported the Pentagon chief's statement that Ukraine's accession to NATO was not realistic.

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