Ukraine war latest: Peace deal with Putin needs 200,000 EU troops, says Zelensky

Russia will return with an army 10 times the size of the one which invaded Ukraine in 2022 if a diplomatic solution does not have strong security guarantees, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will return to Europe to fully occupy all countries which formerly made up the USSR, Mr Zelensky added.

He will then do what he did with Crimea in Ukraine, by seizing territory and using it to make demands and issue ultimatums, the Ukrainian president told world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

He also criticised European countries for having a significantly smaller economic output than Russia, despite having more factories.

US senator Marco Rubio has emphasised that the Trump administration will push an ‘America First’ programme.

“His (Trump’s) primary promise when it comes to foreign policy is that the priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States, it will be furthering the national interest of this country,” Mr Rubio said after being sworn into office by vice president JD Vance.

A China hawk and a staunch backer of Israel, Mr Rubio said the foreign policy goal under Mr Trump will be “the promotion of peace. Of course, peace through strength, peace and always without abandoning our values”.

He is also the first person of Hispanic origin to serve as the top diplomat in the US.

Trump’s new secretary of state Marco Rubio and Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya have discussed their shared concerns over North Korea’s political and security alignment with Russia, the State Department said in a statement.

The two leaders also discussed China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base, the department said.

Mr Putin waved at Mr Xi over the call as he proposed outlining plans to develop the “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between Russia and China, strengthening a geopolitical alliance which seeks to weaken western hegemony.

In a video released by the Kremlin of the conversation, Mr Putin said: “I agree with you that cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is based on a broad commonality of national interests and a convergence of views on what relations between major powers should be.

Ukraine will not agree to Russian demands that it drastically reduces the size of its military in a future peace agreement, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Zelensky warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin would demand that Ukraine reduce its military five-fold.

“This is what he wants. We will not allow this to happen,” Mr Zelensky said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said European nations need to work together to defend their continent, and not wait for the Trump administration, at a time when it is under attack by Russia.

“Europe must establish itself as a strong, global player, as an indispensable player,” the Ukrainian president said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Let’s not forget there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia. European leaders should remember these battles involving North Korean soldiers are now happening in places geographically closer to Davos than Pyongyang,” Mr Zelensky said.

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

The war-time president said that Europeans needed to devise a united security and defence policy and alluded to a pre-inauguration remark by Mr Trump, who proposed a massive hike in defence spending for Nato members to 5 per cent of GDP.

“If it takes 5 per cent of GDP to cover defence, then so be it, 5 per cent it is. And there is no need to play with people’s emotions that defence should be compensated at the expense of medicine or pensions – that’s not fair,” Mr Zelensky said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said at least 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed to prevent a new Russian attack after any ceasefire deal as part of security guarantees for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, also urged European leaders to do more to defend the continent.

“From all the Europeans? 200,000, it’s a minimum. It’s a minimum, otherwise it’s nothing,” Mr Zelensky said when asked about the idea of a peacekeeping contingent on an interview panel after delivering his speech.

That number is around the size of the entire French armed forces, estimated at just over 200,000 by France’s defence ministry in 2020. Mr Zelensky said at least that number would be needed as a security guarantee if Russia’s armed forces totalled 1.5 million personnel and Ukraine had only half that number.

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 a peacekeeping force being discussed.

Tariffs, Ukraine and Chagos: How the UK could feel the full force of Trump’s second term

One area where the Trump administration and Labour are likely to clash is on defence spending. The president has said he feels the US spends more on defence than most Nato countries, calling for a new target of fie per cent GDP.

This is up considerably from the current two per cent target. The UK currently pledges 2.3 per cent, with intentions ro raise it to 2.5 per cent by this year. Given the tight economic contraints outlined by the Treasury, it’s unlikely calls to increase this futher would be welcomed by UK officials.

The president has also said he would like to bring the war in Ukraine to a speedy end – and will now be able to use the US’s massive expenditure on Zelensky’s forces as a bargaining chip in discussions.

But some of his comments have prompted concern that Mr Trump may cede key Russian demands as part of a deal. This could include granting Vladimir Putin’s regime large regions of the country, or deferring Ukraine’s Nato membership bid. The incoming president has previously said that he “understands [Russia’s] feelings” about having “somebody right on their doorstep.”

If the war in Ukraine does move from military support to a possible peacekeeping operation, the prime minister has said that the UK will play “full part” in the plans.

Albert Toth reports:

Donald Trump has said he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its president Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

“We’re talking to (Ukrainian president Volodymyr) Zelensky, we’re going to be talking with president Putin very soon,” Mr Trump said. “We’re going to look at it.”

Mr Trump said he has also pressed Chinese president Xi Jinping in a call to intervene to stop the Ukraine war.

“He’s not done very much on that. He’s got a lot of… power, like we have a lot of power. I said, ‘You ought to get it settled.’ We did discuss it.”

Mr Trump gave no details on possible additional sanctions. The US has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ending the war in Ukraine will only be possible if both sides are willing to make compromises, the new US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said.

In a conversation with journalists immediately after being confirmed in his role, he said according to CNN: “We want the war to end. That’s pretty clear.

“You saw the President talked about, he wants to be a president that promotes peace and ends conflicts, and it’ll be complicated as well.

“Those are complicated things. I couldn’t put a time frame on it, other than to say that anytime you bring an end to a conflict between two sides, neither of whom can achieve their maximum goals, each side is going to have to give up something.”

Achieving peace is a priority for president Donald Trump’s administration, Mr Rubio added. He did not specify what type of concessions Ukraine would need to make.