Ukraine says accepting curbs to its military would be red line in talks to end war

By Anastasiia Malenko

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has told the U.S. that accepting curbs on the size of its armed forces or on its military's overall readiness would be a red line, a senior Ukrainian official said, as Donald Trump strives to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants the size of Ukraine's army to be limited. He has also said Kyiv must drop its ambitions to join NATO and that Moscow must control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own.

"This is a principled position of Ukraine - no one, and certainly not the aggressor country Russia, will dictate to Ukraine what kind of armed forces Ukraine should have," the senior official, Pavlo Palisa, told Reuters in an interview.

Palisa is a deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office and was part of the Ukrainian delegation that met U.S. officials for talks in Saudi Arabia last month.

A well-prepared Ukrainian military would be Kyiv's best security guarantee against new Russian attacks if and when a ceasefire or peace deal is reached, he said.

"I can guess what the Russian Federation is guided by — maybe they want to prepare, to make it easier for themselves in the future, but no. Our task is to learn the lessons (of the past) well," Palisa added.

During a first meeting with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. after which Washington resumed military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv following a brief pause.

But Russia said crucial conditions needed to be worked out before a ceasefire could be reached. The sides then separately agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy facilities, but have since accused each other of flouting the agreements.

Kyiv says it may hold a new round of talks with U.S. officials next week.

Ukrainian officials say they have shared evidence of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure with the United States. Kyiv is honouring the agreement, Palisa said.

Trump's administration has pushed for a quick end to the full-scale war launched by Russia in February 2022, but a lasting peace deal appears far from imminent.

Fighting rages on and Ukraine's top general has said a new Russian offensive push is already underway in the northeast of the country. Russia already controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Apart from the matter of its armed forces, Ukraine has said it will never recognise Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian land, though it has publicly acknowledged that it will not be possible to recover some of the territory by force.

RUSSIA'S SPRING OFFENSIVE

In addition to maintaining a strong Ukrainian army, Palisa emphasised the importance of security guarantees from Kyiv's U.S. and European partners that could help deter future Russian attacks.

The United States has not committed to providing security guarantees, though some European powers have discussed a "coalition of the willing" that could deploy a troop contingent to bolster deterrence.

Palisa said he expected Russia to step up its assaults later this month and in May.

The official said he thought Russia would focus its offensive push on the eastern city of Pokrovsk, but could also push around the eastern fronts near Kupiansk and Lyman as well as the southeastern fronts of Zaporizhzhia and Novopavlivka.

"The absolute priority, in my opinion, will now be on the Pokrovsk direction," he said.

Russian forces have been trying to encircle the strategically important city of Pokrovsk to advance its goal of taking full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region.

Kyiv meanwhile faces uncertainty over the future of U.S. military aid. A lack of new aid could in time impact the supply of missiles for its Patriot air defence systems, as well as its offensive HIMARS and ATACMS systems.

Palisa said earlier this month that Ukraine had not yet discussed additional aid with the U.S., but that the issue could be raised as the ceasefire negotiations continue.

Ukraine is investing resources in developing its own air defences, he said, adding that several nations had agreed to transfer licences and technical documentation for the production of "certain equipment" in the country.

"The process is moving, and quite dynamically."

(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; editing by Tom Balmforth and Gareth Jones)