Zelenskyy: Ukraine must secure guarantees before war’s end

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Kyiv should not wait until the war concludes to obtain reliable security guarantees, insisting that such measures must be in place before the conflict ends.

According to Ukrainian media, Zelenskyy made the remarks during a meeting with journalists, responding to a question about whether the so-called “Korean scenario” was being considered as a model for ending the war. The idea raised was that a ceasefire agreement could be signed without the participation of Ukraine or Russia, similar to the armistice signed on the Korean Peninsula.

“They can speculate rhetorically about one scenario or another. But our situation is fundamentally different from Korea’s. There, the war ended without a final peace treaty — that’s what was meant. And this leads us to the issue of security guarantees — why Ukraine needs them. It’s possible there will never be a definitive document formally ending the war,” Zelenskyy explained.

He added that leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron share the view that guarantees should not be postponed until after the conflict. “And here I agree with him — for instance, a ceasefire is already sufficient grounds to provide security guarantees. We cannot afford to waste time waiting for a comprehensive agreement to end the war. We need these guarantees sooner. That is the only point,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader underlined that Kyiv is not considering adopting any external model, be it “Korean,” “Finnish,” or otherwise. “We have our own situation. No one knows how it will end. But we do know the first step. We understand which security guarantees matter to us, which ones will prevent Russia from launching another aggression. And even if they try to come again, they will face resistance — real resistance,” he emphasised.

By Tamilla Hasanova