By Micah Jonah
January 8, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a security guarantee agreement with Washington is now “essentially ready” to be finalized by U.S. President Donald Trump, following recent negotiations in Paris.
The agreement is intended to ensure that the United States and other Western allies would support Ukraine if Russia were to attack again.
Sun said the Paris talks, which included U.S. and European teams, addressed complex issues in the framework for ending the nearly four-year war. The Ukrainian delegation presented potential solutions, while awaiting U.S. feedback on Moscow’s willingness to engage seriously in peace efforts.
Washington endorsed the idea of providing security guarantees for Ukraine for the first time earlier this week. Any agreement reached with Kyiv is expected to be shared with Moscow in an attempt to broker an end to the conflict. While Kyiv emphasizes that legally binding assurances are crucial to deter future aggression, details of how allies would respond remain undisclosed. Zelenskyy has said he has not yet received a definitive answer on how the U.S. would act if Russia attacked again.
Russia Rejects Peacekeeper Plan:
The announcement coincides with Russia’s rejection of a plan for European peacekeepers to be deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire. Russian officials described the proposal as “militaristic” and warned that peacekeeping forces would be considered legitimate military targets.
The plan emerged from a Paris meeting where French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a declaration of intent with Zelenskyy, outlining a framework for their troops to assist in Ukraine after a ceasefire. Moscow has repeatedly stated it will not accept NATO members sending forces to the country.
Russian Attacks on Energy Infrastructure:
Zelenskyy also called for sustained international pressure on Russia following recent missile strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. These attacks left hundreds of thousands of households in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions without heating and power. Local authorities have been restoring electricity gradually, and schools have extended holidays due to the emergency.
Borys Filatov, mayor of Dnipro, described the situation as “truly a national-level emergency,” noting that hospitals were running on generators and power was slowly returning. About 600,000 households remained without electricity, according to Ukrainian energy company DTEK.
The security guarantee agreement and ongoing international negotiations highlights Kyiv’s urgent need for backing from its allies as the conflict with Russia continues.
