Zelenskyy: Ukraine expects five documents from talks with US

Dec 16, 2025 - 06:04

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects five documents to result from talks with the United States on a potential agreement to end the Russo-Ukrainian war, some of which will be legally binding, including on security guarantees.

Source: Zelenskyy speaking to media outlets after talks in Berlin on 15 December, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said he expects five documents from the talks and noted that some will concern security guarantees.

Quote: "We are expecting five documents. Some of them are about security guarantees, legally binding, that is, passed and approved by the United States Congress. Where there's the fifth [article] 'as in NATO'. That is, a mirror of Article 5 – a mirror image of the fifth article for everyone in the Alliance. And this will be voted on by Congress; there are agreements on this. And it's vitally important."

Details: Zelenskyy added that the details of the security guarantees had been discussed with the military. "And I believe we are very close to strong security guarantees. Of course, we are people at war, and during war we rely on facts, so theoretically we are seeing good elements on paper today. Yet the reality is, I confirm and reiterate, the vote in the US Congress," he said.

The second block, he said, concerns reconstruction, without specifying how many documents this would cover.

Quote: "We are already talking about money and creating a special fund, which we are counting on."

Details: Zelenskyy said that he had raised the issue of assistance for internally displaced Ukrainians who have lost their homes due to the war for the first time during the talks.

Quote: "This is a large amount of money, tens of billions of dollars. I think we are talking about around US$70-80 billion. And we raised this issue. It is important that the Americans understand this. Appropriate compensation is needed so that Ukrainians will want to live in Ukraine and have these opportunities."

Details: Zelenskyy also revealed that he had discussed funding for payments to the families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, as this is a serious financial burden for Ukraine. "We will cover all of this; it is our moral duty first and foremost. And I would like there to be financial support for this programme as well. We will do it even without external support, but this can speed up the process," he said.

He noted that both the US and Europe had been involved in the work on the documents.

Quote: "And all together, now with the Europeans too, we spoke today with US President Trump. We personally discussed all these steps with him. I think that once we finalise the documents or get closer to the final version, we'll meet with him."

Details: Zelenskyy added that the path to potential agreements "is definitely not easy, because the war is complicated" but that does not necessarily mean it will be long.

Quote: "The Americans want a quick conclusion, but for us quality is important as well as speed. If speed and quality coincide, we are all in."

Background:

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will not recognise Donbas as Russian, either de facto or de jure.

Earlier, AFP reported that during talks in Berlin on Sunday 14 December, US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pressed Ukrainian representatives to give up the part of Donbas still under Kyiv's control.