Zelenskyy Says US Troops Must Be Part of Any Peacekeeping Force in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 8, 2025. Alina Smutko/Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that any international peacekeeping force to deploy in Ukraine as part of an eventual peace deal would need to include American troops.

Zelenskyy made the remarks in a Jan. 22 interview with Bloomberg in Davos, Switzerland, in which the Ukrainian leader explicitly called for an international peacekeeping force to secure a potential cease-fire with Russia.

Such troops would not have a “relaxed time” on such a mission, as they would need to be deployed to the conflict zone where they would be exposed to some risk, Zelenskyy said, before saying that some of those soldiers have to be American.

“It can’t be without the United States,” Zelenskyy told Bloomberg. “Even if some European friends think that it can be, no, it will not be. First of all, nobody will risk without the United States.”

At a separate media briefing in Davos, Zelenskyy told reporters that a contingent of at least 200,000 international soldiers would be needed to guarantee Ukraine’s security in a potential cease-fire with Russia. Without such guarantees, Zelenskyy said it would just be a matter of time until Russia invades again.

“We need contingents with a very strong number of soldiers,” Zelenskyy said. “Two hundred thousand is the minimum.”

Zelenskyy previously said that any cease-fire without security guarantees for Ukraine would merely give Russia time to rearm for a renewed offensive, adding that the United States should play a key role in providing such guarantees.

Zelenskyy’s remarks in Switzerland came on the same day that President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter into negotiations and bring a quick end to the Ukraine war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called on Putin to settle the conflict quickly or face the prospect of additional punishing sanctions and other measures.

“I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin a very big favor,“ Trump wrote, partially in capital letters. ”Settle now, and stop this ridiculous war! It’s only going to get worse. If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told Reuters that Moscow wants to see more specifics of what Trump’s proposed deal to end the war in Ukraine would actually entail. “It’s not merely the question of ending the war,” Polyanskiy said. “It’s first and foremost the question of addressing root causes of Ukrainian crisis.”

Polyanskiy’s remarks echo those made by Putin during a Jan. 20 meeting of Russia’s Security and Defense Council. The Russian leader said he’s ready to talk to the Trump administration about mending strained U.S.-Russia ties, and that a key part of those discussions should be finding a way to resolve the “root causes” of the Ukraine crisis.

Aligning with Zelenskyy’s position, Putin said that the goal of the talks “should not be a brief cease-fire, not some kind of period of respite that would allow a regrouping and rearmament of forces, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people and all peoples who live in the region.”

Previously, Putin said his demands to end hostilities include Ukrainian troop withdrawals from contested regions, Ukraine’s adoption of a neutral status, “demilitarization” of the country, and the lifting of Western sanctions.

Last year, Zelenskyy floated a “victory plan” that focused on making significant battlefield gains and involving the use of Western-supplied weapons to strike deeper inside Russia. Trump has been critical of allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike inside Russia and has instead focused his efforts on a negotiated settlement.

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would leverage his personal relationships with Putin and Zelenskyy to bring both men to the negotiating table and work out a deal that would end the conflict quickly.

Trump has appointed retired Gen. Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, with Kellogg’s recommendations for ending the conflict including a formal cease-fire, sanctions relief for Russia, and bilateral defense agreements to ensure Ukraine’s long-term security.

In his final months in office, former President Joe Biden surged military aid to Ukraine, saying this would put Kyiv in the best possible position at the bargaining table.