Zelenskyy welcomes US offer of security guarantees to Ukraine ahead of Trump meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Washington’s move to extend security guarantees to Kyiv, terming it as a crucial step toward safeguarding the country’s future.

His remarks came on the eve of his scheduled talks in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump, where the evolving security framework and Ukraine’s long-term defence needs are expected to dominate discussions.

“Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation,” he said on social media.

His message came after a video conference earlier Sunday of a group of Ukraine’s allies in Europe, including the leaders of Britain, France and Germany.

Earlier today, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to allow the United States and its European partners to extend Ukraine a form of collective security guarantee modelled on NATO’s Article 5.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Witkoff described the concession as “game-changing,” noting that this was the first time Moscow had accepted the possibility of such protections. “We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he said.