The Trump administration has indicated to Ukraine that US security guarantees are contingent on Kyiv first agreeing a peace deal that would likely involve ceding the Donbas region to Russia, according to eight people familiar with the talks [Financial Times].
The US also told Kyiv that it could offer additional weapons to strengthen Ukraine's armed forces in peacetime if Ukraine agrees to the deal.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped to finalise US security assurances and a postwar economic plan this month, but Washington is now signalling that any commitments hinge on an accommodation with Moscow.
Zelenskyy’s presidential office did not respond to a request for comment by FT. However, a senior official in Kyiv said the Americans were “using the guarantees . . . to push Ukraine” towards concessions they believe could bring “Russia to the table." The official added that a key reason the prosperity agreement remains unsigned is that Zelenskyy and Trump agreed in Davos that the document required further work.
Source: commonspace.eu with the Financial Times
