National security advisers from Europe and other allies visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support as a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine intensifies, according to the Associated Press.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that work on the peace proposals could now accelerate because Ukraine has shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including documents on security guarantees. He said he was preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with partners.
Zelenskyy said he expected “this further work will now take place in the capitals of European countries as well as Canada, Japan and other representatives of the Coalition of the Willing,” referring to about 30 countries that support Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine “is not allocating a great deal of time for this process.”
He said representatives from Ukraine’s General Staff and military sector would meet Monday in Paris, followed by a meeting Tuesday of European leaders. Zelenskyy said he hoped documents on security guarantees would be finalized, and that there would also be meetings with U.S. representatives in Paris.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian negotiator Oleksandr Bevz said Kyiv was coordinating security guarantee plans with European partners. Bevz said the plan would include a multilateral framework agreement involving Ukrainian forces as the first line of defense, European-led troops deployed in Ukraine, and U.S. “backstop” support.
In parallel, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Taras Kachka said international partners had reached consensus on an economic support package of about $800 billion for Ukraine over the next decade. Kachka said the package, based on calculations by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, would cover damage compensation, reconstruction and economic stability, along with a $200 billion growth “booster.”
Kachka said the economic package is tied to Ukraine’s EU accession reforms. Economy minister Oleksii Sobolev said specific funding sources had not been identified, though roughly $500 billion is expected from public grants and concessional loans, with details to be worked out over the next two weeks.
Also on Saturday, Zelenskyy announced further changes to the Ukrainian government. He said he had proposed Denys Shmyhal to become energy minister and first deputy prime minister, and he said he had proposed Mykhailo Fedorov to replace Shmyhal in defense.
Zelenskyy said Shmyhal most recently served as defense minister and previously was Ukraine’s longest-serving prime minister, and the report described Fedorov as widely credited with leading the introduction of drone technology into the army in his role as digital transformation minister. The report also said Zelenskyy appointed the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence as his new chief of staff, naming Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, and said the president framed the appointment as part of an effort to sharpen the focus on security, defense development and diplomacy.
Separately from the diplomacy talks, the Associated Press reported that the death toll from a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv on Friday increased to two, including a 3-year-old boy, based on a Telegram post by Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov. It also reported that an overnight Russian drone attack on the Mykolaiv region targeted critical infrastructure, left some communities without electricity, and caused no reported casualties, according to regional head Vitalii Kim.