Zelensky: Russia seeks its own security guarantees from NATO and US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is demanding its own security guarantees after the war, seeking a separate agreement with NATO or the United States. He insisted that these issues cannot be discussed until the war ends and Ukraine's own security guarantees are defined. Zelensky noted that Russia interprets these guarantees as a fundamental change to the security format in Europe and globally, a topic raised during the Putin-Biden meeting before the full-scale invasion. He added that any NATO withdrawal or security rollback would be a sign of weakness for the Alliance. The comments follow a Telegraph report that Putin plans to use peace talks to pressure NATO into reducing its military presence in Europe to 1997 levels, potentially requiring troop withdrawals from Poland, the Baltics, and Finland.