Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia.
Zelenskyy, speaking a day after Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, said Europe must “take care of itself.” He said 200,000 peacekeepers from European countries would be the minimum number of peacekeepers required, “Otherwise, it’s nothing.”
“Let’s not forget, there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukraine’s president said Russia’s demand that Ukraine reduce its army to one-fifth of its current size of 800,000 is not an option.
Ukraine’s best defense during a ceasefire deal, Zelenskyy said, would be its membership into NATO. While most European countries support Ukraine’s entry into the alliance, Germany and the U.S. oppose it. Hungary and Slovakia, which are pro-Russia governments, also oppose Ukraine’s entry into NATO.
Zelenskyy also called on European nations to consider Trump’s recent call for NATO members to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. “If it takes 5% of GDP to cover defense, then so be it, 5% it is.” Zelenskyy said Europe needs to create a united security and defense policy.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking a meeting with Trump, who had promised before the U.S. election that he would bring a swift end to the war between Russia and Ukraine if he won the American presidency. It has never been clear, though, how he would accomplish that.
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks damaged residential buildings in several parts of central and southern Ukraine.
The attacks were part of an assault that Ukraine’s military said involved 131 Russian drones and four ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 72 of the drones, the air force said.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysask said on Telegram that Russian attacks damaged houses and a warehouse, injuring one person.
Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets reported Tuesday that falling drone fragments damaged four residential buildings, a school, a shop and a power line.
Poltava Governor Filip Pronin said on Telegram that a drone fell on a house in his region, sparking a fire, while pieces of destroyed drones damaged six residential buildings.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed 55 Ukrainian aerial drones, mostly in regions along the Russia-Ukraine border.
Russian air defenses knocked down 22 of the drones over Bryansk, 12 drones over Rostov and 10 over the Smolensk region, the ministry said.
Other intercepts took place over Voronezh, Saratov and Kursk.
Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram that drone debris damaged several residential buildings, while Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack on a car injured two people.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
