“I did not say that we need 200 thousand”: Zelensky clarified his statement about the probable number of foreign contingents in Ukraine

In an interview with the Bloomberg agency on January 22, he stated that it is about the number of foreign contingents to which Ukraine may have to reduce its army in the future due to lack of funding, as well as if Ukraine is not a member of NATO.

“I didn’t say, by the way, that we need 200,000. The journalist asked, I said it could be more, it could be less,” Zelensky said.

He noted that in order to contain the Russian troops in Ukraine, there should be a million-strong army.

“If we reduce the army by 200,000, by 300,000, by 500,000 – it will say that other troops are needed instead – in the number by which we have reduced. This is what I was talking about,” the president explained.

He assured that Ukraine is ready for the presence of a foreign contingent. However, such a decision cannot be considered only as a European initiative, without the presence of the United States, because “this is what Putin wants,” Zelensky believes.

On January 21, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyi said that in order to prevent a new Russian attack after a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, it is necessary to deploy at least 200,000 European peacekeepers. This is the minimum number of troops that will provide protection against the Russian army, which will number 1.5 million people.

“From all Europeans? 200 thousand is the minimum. This is the minimum, otherwise it is nothing,” Zelenskyy said.

On January 10, he said that Ukraine dreams of receiving strong security guarantees and ending the war in 2025.