Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He also described Ukraine as the “former Ukraine”.
Sunday January 25 2026, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that the security guarantees document for between the U.S. and Ukraine is “100% ready“, and that Ukraine was just waiting for the U.S. to name a time and place for the signing.
The document has not been signed yet, and if Russia has its way, it won’t be – at leasdt not before one condition is met.
Moscow’s red lines
According to the DPA, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that any security guarantees must apply only to a Ukraine that poses no threat to Russia.
Specifically wants a “Moscow-friendly” Ukraine, if Russia were to accept the security guarantees, DPA reports.
“If the aim is to preserve the regime on part of the territory of the former Ukraine and to continue using this regime as a bridgehead for threats against Russia, then … such guarantees will hardly secure a reliable peace,” he said speaking in Moscow and quoted by the Interfax news agency,
Lavrov said Russia did not know the details of what Washington and Kyiv may have agreed on guarantees, and he added that Moscow remained open to discussions on wider collective security arrangements in the region, provided Russia’s own security interests were included.
Talks continue
Since November, the US, Ukraine and European countries have held negotiating rounds on possible post-war arrangements, with American negotiators keeping Moscow informed.
Despite the diplomacy, fighting remains intense. Last weekend, Ukrainian and Russian representatives met directly under US mediation for the first time in some time.
A second round of talks is expected on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, this time without US participation, as efforts to find a path forward continue.
Sources: Reuters, DPA, Interfax
