EU’s Kallas warns strongest security guarantee is strong Ukrainian army

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, told the BBC that "the strongest security guarantee is a strong Ukrainian army", emphasising the need for credible and robust measures as peace talks with Russia continue.

Kallas warned against pressuring Ukraine to cede territory, calling proposed land concessions a "trap that Putin wants us to walk into."

She spoke during her first UK interview since EU leaders joined Donald Trump's White House discussions on Ukraine, emphasising that letting Russia retain Ukrainian lands would be a dangerous precedent.

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been a flashpoint for years, with Russian military aggression displacing 1.5 million people.

Ukraine has consistently rejected any territorial swap with the Kremlin, despite Trump advocating for "swapping of territories."

On the question of international support, Kallas admitted that there were few "concrete steps" for a deterrent force at this stage. "It is up to member states of the 'coalition of the willing' to determine exactly what they could contribute," she said, noting that the operational role of these forces had yet to be defined.

Kallas, who has been placed on Moscow's "wanted list," underscored the importance of security guarantees that were "not just on paper," insisting that a strong Ukrainian military remains central to any credible defence strategy.

Last week, leaders from France, Germany, Italy, and Finland joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, shortly after Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska.

By Aghakazim Guliyev