Zelenskyy on the deployment of a military contingent: we are not talking about the UN or the OSCE
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine does not consider UN or OSCE peacekeepers as security guarantees, but needs a military contingent of European partners in the sky, at sea and on land.
Ukraine does not see the deployment of UN peacekeepers or OSCE representatives as security guarantees. Ukraine is talking about a military contingent of European partners that will be present in the sky, at sea and on land. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi at a press conference after a meeting with the leaders of countries in Paris, reports UNN
We are talking about a military contingent, about presence, about our protection. The representation of our partner countries in the sky, at sea and on land, as I said, is military. We are not talking about UN troops, we are not talking about the OSCE... there are such proposals, they are on the table, we discussed them, but our position regarding the OSCE... we do not want just the presence of the OSCE, this is not a security guarantee. They have their own functionality, but they do not have the appropriate mandate as a military contingent, and the Russians are not afraid of them. The OSCE has been represented in Ukraine since the beginning of the first occupation. After 2014, the OSCE was in Ukraine, in the east of our country. They did not have a mandate, they could not even help us with our boys and girls who were behind bars in the temporarily occupied territory
He noted that Ukraine is talking about security guarantees, and not about a frozen conflict, where some people appear on the front line to provide some monitoring.
It's not about that at all, it's about professional people who guarantee security for Ukraine
He also added that Ukraine would like to work together with the United States to ensure that these security guarantees are provided by both Europe and America.
The number of European partners also depends on the presence of the United States. We will have more contingent if the US supports. I don't have an answer to the question of what the US will be willing to provide, because we have not discussed it with them yet. I told Trump that air defense systems are important to us, but not a one-time decision, but a permanent operating system that provides 100% protection of the Ukrainian sky
Addition
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Ihor Zhovkva, said earlier that Ukraine needs a "serious" contribution from Europe in the form of troops ready to fight, not peacekeepers, after any end to hostilities with Russia.
Reminder
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi invited representatives of the countries of the "coalition of the decisive" to Ukraine to develop a clear plan regarding the foreign contingent.