Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States had floated the possibility of a new security framework for Europe as part of efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, warning that Moscow could exploit the discussions to undermine NATO and pursue changes to the continent’s borders.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had struck a major Russian oil facility that supports Moscow’s war effort.
Zelenskyy described the proposed security framework as a potential threat, arguing that it could shift attention away from ending the war and toward broader negotiations over Europe’s security architecture.
"In my view, this can be dangerous. This should not be the main agenda,” Zelenskyy told reporters Friday in comments embargoed until Saturday.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in reopening wider questions about European security rather than concentrating solely on ending the 4.5-year war in Ukraine.
"Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact. I am sure this is part of his concept of revising security guarantees in Europe,” Zelenskyy said. "This is dangerous because, in my view, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations.”
European leaders have repeatedly stressed that decisions concerning the continent’s security must remain in European hands. They have also warned against allowing Moscow to dictate the terms of a new European security order or influence NATO’s future.
Zelenskyy said the United States had asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from parts of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine that Russia does not control in exchange for NATO membership. He reiterated that Kyiv would not surrender its territory.
Ukraine is discussing a comprehensive security package with its partners that could include specific guarantees from NATO and the European Union, a strong Ukrainian military and financial support for a specified period, he said. The package would also include a recovery plan.
"If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: Do we accept it or not?” Zelenskyy said.
He stressed that any arrangement would not involve recognizing occupied territories as Russian.
Zelenskyy also rejected the possibility of Ukraine committing to neutrality, saying that would require amending the country’s constitution.
"If Putin expects Ukraine’s neutrality to be enshrined, that’s not going to happen,” he said. "We’re not in NATO right now anyway.”
Ukrainian strikes on the Samara oil pipeline station near the village of Prosvet in Russia’s Samara region set several oil storage tanks on fire Friday, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
Moscow has not commented on the strike.
The facility is a key part of the network used to export Russian oil to global markets, the General Staff said. The military also reported striking the Lipetsk-2 airfield in Russia’s Lipetsk region.
Zelenskyy warned that broader discussions about Europe’s security could allow Putin to seek changes to NATO’s military presence, including the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
He said Putin had raised similar ideas with then-President Joe Biden in 2021, seeking a redistribution of power in Europe and the world.
"I think Putin will bring up Finland and Sweden. I’m sure he will raise the issue of Hungary and the presence of American troops in the Baltic countries,” Zelenskyy said.
He said any changes to Europe’s security arrangements should be decided by European NATO members only after the war ends.
"The sequence should be as follows: a ceasefire, an end to the war in Ukraine, and security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. "There can be no security guarantees in Europe, or for Europe, without Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s priorities in the Abu Dhabi negotiations included an energy ceasefire, reopening the Black Sea, prisoner releases and preparations for a meeting between leaders aimed at ending the war.
He said Russian negotiators lacked the authority to decide on several issues and that Moscow was unwilling to accept an energy ceasefire.
"At the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation said they didn’t have a mandate to decide this issue, but we can also see that they are unwilling,” he said, adding that negotiators had been instructed to resolve ceasefire questions directly with Putin.
Zelenskyy said discussions in Moscow with U.S. negotiators had resulted in an agreement on a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people on each side. The exact number was still being determined, he said, estimating it at between 1,200 and 1,300.
He also said Washington supported Ukraine’s demand that European countries participate directly in future negotiations rather than remain outside the main negotiating room.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy were among the countries represented at the Abu Dhabi meetings, Zelenskyy said. He expected between three and five European representatives to take part in future discussions.
Zelenskyy accused SpaceX of imposing restrictions on its Starshield satellite system in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, saying the limitations were hampering efforts to intercept Russian drones.
He said the system’s speed had been restricted to a maximum of 161 kph (100 mph) in occupied areas and that the limitations had been in place for five days.
Zelenskyy questioned the explanation that the problem was technical, saying the restrictions appeared to have been imposed by SpaceX despite previous assurances from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield was more under the control of the U.S. government.
"The current Starshield restrictions suggest that SpaceX imposed them,” Zelenskyy said. "That’s what our team is telling me. So this doesn’t quite line up with what we heard earlier. That’s why we need to get to the bottom of all this.”
He said the restrictions prevented Ukrainian forces from intercepting Russian jet-powered Shahed drones over occupied territory as they approached from the east, forcing them to wait until the drones reached areas where the limitations did not apply.