Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the risk Russia will occupy Europe is “100 per cent” and said that intelligence showed 150,000 of Putin’s soldiers amassing in neighbouring Belarus.
The Ukrainian president issued the stark warning during an interview with NBC News, where he stressed that he trusted President Donald Trump, but would not accept any ceasefire deal conducted without Ukraine at the negotiating table.
Mr Zelensky voiced his fear that Putin was waiting for the weakening of Nato, and that the withdrawal of US military support in Europe would place his country and former Soviet bloc countries in a “difficult position”.
“There are risks that this can be Poland and Lithuania because we believe – we believe that Putin will wage war against Nato,” he said during the interview with Kristen Welker.
“I will believe that the United States will not take its forces, its contingents from Europe because that will severely weaken Nato and the European continent. Putin definitely counts on that.
“... and the fact that we receive information that he will think of the invasion against former Soviet republics. And forgive me, but today these are Nato countries.”
Without Trump and the US administration’s support in Ukraine, Zelensky said they had a “low chance to survive”, having already endured a three-year long war which has seen them concede 20 per cent of their territory to Moscow’s forces.
“And even if I will look at the army of Russia, if they will see it that they, Russia, have 220 or 250 brigades, and Europe has 50. That is the answer. The risk that Russia will occupy Europe is 100 per cent,” he warned.
He also called on Europe and Ukraine to be part of negotiations, and urged Trump to ensure his country remained the priority when discussing with Putin.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never,” Zelensky told the ‘Meet the Press’ moderator on Friday in Munich, Germany. “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.”
US officials and Russian counterparts are expected to hold talks in Saudi Arabia before an anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin.
Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, previously said European leaders will not have a place at the negotiating table in a discussion to end the Ukraine war, despite the fact that European forces are likely to play a major role in securing any peace deal.
His comments have caused alarm, with Sir Keir Starmer poised to join European leaders at an emergency summit expected to be called by Emmanuel Macron on Monday, as they consider how to respond.
He will then take the message from Europe to the US when he visits Trump later this month.
The Prime Minister said: “This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.
“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in Nato as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia.
“The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”
The Sunday Times reported that Sir Keir held one-to-one meetings on Friday with the Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and the heads of the armed services, who are calling for spending to increase to a 2.65 per cent share of the economy.
Labour has pledged to increase spending from its current 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product to 2.5 per cent, although no timetable has been set out for that increase.
While diplomatic discussions continue, Russia launched a barrage of drones overnight which saw at least one person injured in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, while houses were damaged in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 143 drones but it had shot down 95 of them while 46 did not reach their targets likely due to electronic countermeasures.
In the Kyiv capital region, several houses were damaged in a drone strike, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram. There were no injuries, they added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again urged Western allies to give Ukraine more air defences with Russia now holding 20 per cent of Ukraine and slowly advancing in the east as Moscow's full-scale invasion nears its third anniversary.
He cited data showing that over the past week Russia had unleashed about 1,220 aerial bombs, over 850 drones and more than 40 missiles into government-controlled areas of Ukraine.
