America offers 15-year security guarantees — but Kyiv wants more

The United States has proposed “strong” security guarantees for Ukraine against Russia for a renewable period of fifteen years, as part of broader peace efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the substance of the proposal on Monday, noting that he asked Washington for a longer timeframe during his meeting with Donald Trump in Washington yesterday.

During an online press conference, Zelensky said: “I truly want these guarantees to be longer. I told him we would like to consider 30, 40, or 50 years,” adding that his American counterpart promised to study the request.

Zelensky added that his country will lift martial law once the war ends and after receiving security guarantees.

On Sunday, Donald Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of a settlement in Ukraine, while Volodymyr Zelensky appeared eager to secure gains for his country through the U.S. plan.

The American and Ukrainian presidents met in Florida on Sunday, hoping to craft a plan to end the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. president said that reaching an agreement to end the conflict was near, but noted that no breakthrough had been made on the issue of disputed territories.

Trump — who pledged to end the conflict on the first day of his presidency nearly a year ago — said that within weeks it would become clear whether it was possible to end the war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Despite his declared optimism, he offered few details about the progress he referenced, drifting instead to criticize his predecessor Joe Biden for allocating billions of dollars to Ukraine’s defense, and to speak about his friendly relations with Vladimir Putin.