Zelensky still has one big unanswered question in Ukraine-Russia peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that one key question remains unanswered as the Trump administration works to hammer out a peace deal end the war in Ukraine.

As President Trump pushes for a cease-fire deal to end Russia’s nearly four year invasion, Zelensky maintained that the US and its allies have yet to offer clear details on what security guarantees would be granted to Ukraine to protect it from future aggression.

“There is one question I — and all Ukrainians — want to get an answer to: if Russia again starts a war, what will our partners do?” Zelensky told Bloomberg.

The main disagreements in the peace deal involve Russia’s maximalist demands that Ukraine shrink its military, totally cede the contested Donbas region and give up any hopes of joining NATO.

“There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine — and we don’t have a unified view on Donbas,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president has long maintained that the Donbas region cannot be surrendered as it contains the Donetsk fortress belt, which has staved off Russian invasions for more than a decade.

Without it, Ukrainian officials have argued that Moscow would have an easier time launching yet another invasion in the near future, a concern that was shared by European allies.

To that end, Zelensky insisted Ukraine needed guarantees from NATO — specifically the US — that the defense bloc would intervene in the case of another Russian invasion.

The US and NATO members have previously floated the idea of granting Ukraine protections similar to NATO’s Article 5, which would see the block treat an attack on Kyiv as an attack on the coalition itself.

Zelensky also reiterated that the European Union should be involved in the cease-fire negotiations despite US negotiators effectively shutting out the Europeans concerns.

“We are talking to the US — it is constructive work,” Zelensky told Bloomberg. “But there are questions that concern Europe — and we cannot decide for Europe. We need to discuss with Europe Ukraine’s membership in the EU, which is also part of security guarantees.”

Zelensky, who is in London, is set to meet with his top security official, Rustem Umerov, for a detailed briefing on his delegation’s latest talks with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who met with the Kremlin last week.

As he prepares for his latest European tour to talk with heads-of-state, Zelensky said he remains ready to fly to meet with Trump if a breakthrough occurs.