STORY: :: Zelenskiy says the U.S. has linked security guarantees to Ukraine giving up Donbas
:: Kyiv, Ukraine / March 25, 2026
:: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian President
"Americans are ready to finalize these (security) guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas. In my view, the Russian side is shaping the atmosphere in its dialogue with the Americans around this very idea: that Ukraine should withdraw from Donbas, the United States will then provide the security guarantees Ukraine is seeking, and Russians will certainly end this war. More or less, this is the triangle we find ourselves in." // "Of course, because American side, it is not a secret, they are very open with this that their focus is Iran... that Ukraine is not the first priority. They shared this message with my team, and my team said that 'look in any way we have such big'... and they said 'yes, it is very important for us the situation in Ukraine and the situation with a war Russia with Ukraine. But you have to know that our army is in Iran. That is why our focus is on the Middle East.'"
With the United States now focused on its own conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump is applying pressure on Ukraine in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion.
Zelenskiy had said in January that the security guarantees document between Ukraine and the U.S. was "100% ready" and waiting to be signed. Then, on Tuesday (March 24), following talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami, he said that there was still work to be done.
Ukrainian officials have previously expressed fears that shipments of U.S.-made Patriots - the only missiles capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles - would dry up because of the Iran conflict.
Ukraine was making progress in its production of its own long-range missiles and drones, allowing it to strike deep within Russia in retaliation for Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities, he said.
