Zelenskyy says Ukraine's army to be “bonus” for NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine’s 800,000-strong army would be a "bonus" to the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), especially if Trump seeks to bring home U.S. troops who are stationed overseas.

In an exclusive interview with an American news outlet on February 1, Zelenskyy expressed the need for more discussions between Kyiv and Washington to form a comprehensive plan for a ceasefire, Caliber.Az reports.

Zelenskyy said excluding his country from talks between the U.S. and Russia about the war in Ukraine would be “very dangerous” and asked for more discussions between Kyiv and Washington to develop a plan for a ceasefire.

The Ukrainian lead noted that Russia does not want to engage in ceasefire talks or to discuss any kind of concessions, which the Kremlin interprets as losing at a time when its troops have the upper hand on the battlefield.

According to him, U.S. President Donald Trump could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the table with the threat of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and banking system, as well as the continued support of the Ukrainian military.

“I think these are the closest and most important steps,” he said in the interview in the Ukrainian capital that lasted for more than an hour.

Other security guarantee proposals should be backed up by sufficient weapons from the U.S. and Europe, and support for Kyiv to develop its own defence industry, he said.

To note, Zelenskyy’s remarks followed comments Friday by Trump, who said American and Russian officials were “already talking” about ending the war. Trump said his administration has had “very serious” discussions with Russia, but he did not elaborate.

By Khagan Isayev