Zelenskiy Says Post-war Security Guarantee Would Need at Least 200,000 Peacekeepers

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Says Post-war Security Guarantee Would Need at Least 200,000 Peacekeepers

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is seeking a meeting with US President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that a contingent of at least 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed as part of any settlement to end the war with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland a day after Trump returned to power following months of promises to end the war in Ukraine quickly, also urged European leaders to do more to defend the continent.

The prospect of a rapid settlement has focused minds in Kyiv and Europe on the urgent need for security guarantees to prevent any future Russian attack, with the idea of peacekeeping contingent force circulating.

"From all the Europeans? 200,000, it's a minimum. It's a minimum, otherwise it's nothing," Zelenskiy said when asked about the idea of a peacekeeping mission on an interview panel after delivering his speech.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was working to set up a meeting between him and Trump.

"The teams have been working on a meeting, they are currently in the process," Zelenskiy said about those efforts.

Trump, who returned to office on Monday, has said he will stop the war in Ukraine swiftly, without saying how.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine would not agree to Russian demands that it drastically reduce the size of its military, predicting that Russian President Vladimir Putin would demand Ukraine cut its armed forces to a fifth of their size.

"This is what he wants. We will not allow this to happen," Zelenskiy said.

In his speech, Zelenskiy said Europe must make itself a strong global player, able to guarantee peace and security for itself and for others. He suggested Europe had less influence over Washington because the United States viewed its allies' contribution to security as lacking.

"Does anyone in the United States worry that Europe might abandon them someday – might stop being their ally? The answer is no," Zelenskiy said.

He said that Europeans needed to devise a united security and defense policy and alluded to a pre-inauguration remark by Trump, who proposed a massive hike in defense spending for NATO members to 5% of GDP.

"If it takes 5% of GDP to cover defense, then so be it, 5% it is. And there is no need to play with people's emotions that defense should be compensated at the expense of medicine or pensions – that's not fair," Zelenskiy said.



North Korea Condemns Trump’s Gaza Takeover Proposal as ‘Bluster’ 

Palestinian youth watch the sunset from their destroyed house in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza City, 11 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian youth watch the sunset from their destroyed house in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza City, 11 February 2025. (EPA)
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North Korea Condemns Trump’s Gaza Takeover Proposal as ‘Bluster’ 

Palestinian youth watch the sunset from their destroyed house in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza City, 11 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian youth watch the sunset from their destroyed house in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza City, 11 February 2025. (EPA)

North Korean state media on Wednesday denounced US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza and relocate Palestinians as bluster and accused Washington of robbery.

The slim hopes of Palestinians for safety and peace are being crushed by the proposal, a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without directly naming Trump.

"The world is now boiling like a porridge pot over the US' bombshell declaration," KCNA said.

The commentary is aimed at Trump's shock announcement that the US intends to remove Gaza residents and transform the war-ravaged territory into what the president billed as a "Riviera of the Middle East".

The KCNA commentary also criticized the Trump administration over its calls to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland, and its decision to change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America".

"The US should awaken from its anachronistic daydream and stop at once the act of encroaching upon the dignity and sovereignty of other countries and nations," the KCNA report said, while calling the US a "ferocious robber."

Trump held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term and has touted their personal rapport.

The US president recently said he would reach out to Kim again, though so far Pyongyang's state media has barely commented on Trump's second term while continuing to lash out at what it views as the grave security threat posed by Washington and its allies.

North Korea, which often argues against Western views on international issues, has been outspoken about the situation in Gaza, blaming Israel for the bloodshed and calling the United States an "accomplice."