President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Sunday that Ukraine and the United States have finalized a comprehensive security guarantees agreement. Speaking from Vilnius during an official visit to Lithuania, the Ukrainian leader stated that the document is “100 per cent ready” and awaits only the scheduling of a formal signing ceremony by partner countries. Following the signing, the agreement must undergo ratification in both the U.S. Congress and Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada before taking full effect.
This announcement comes after two days of groundbreaking trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi that included representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. According to Zelenskyy, these discussions were particularly significant for bringing together military officials in addition to diplomatic personnel from all three nations. He characterized this as likely the first such comprehensive trilateral format in considerable time, suggesting that negotiations are now addressing specific operational and strategic security details necessary for any potential peace agreement.
Zelenskyy’s Lithuanian appearance also highlighted Ukraine’s parallel European integration goals, with the Ukrainian president establishing 2027 as the target date for achieving European Union membership. He described EU accession as providing an essential “economic security guarantee” that would work alongside military security arrangements being developed with the United States. This twin-pillar strategy reflects Ukraine’s comprehensive approach to ensuring its future through both military protection and economic prosperity, creating multiple layers of Western institutional integration.
Despite progress on formalizing the U.S. security agreement, Zelenskyy acknowledged that profound disagreements continue to separate Ukrainian and Russian positions on fundamental issues. Most critically, the question of territorial integrity remains a major obstacle, with Zelenskyy firmly insisting that respect for Ukraine’s borders “must be respected” in any settlement. This position stands in direct opposition to Russian demands that have been articulated through various channels, including recent marathon discussions between President Putin and U.S. presidential envoys. Moscow maintains that any peace deal requires Ukrainian military withdrawal from eastern territories that Russia has illegally annexed, despite not having achieved full control through military operations.
Further negotiations are planned for February 1, when delegations will reconvene in the United Arab Emirates for continued discussions. U.S. officials have indicated that the recent Abu Dhabi talks covered a wide-ranging agenda, addressing both military arrangements and economic matters, and even exploring the possibility of implementing a ceasefire before finalizing a complete peace agreement. Among the unresolved challenges is developing an acceptable framework for managing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which remains under Russian occupation. Zelenskyy noted that while American mediators are working to identify areas of possible compromise, he emphasized that all parties must demonstrate willingness to make concessions if the goal of achieving peace is to be realized.