EASTORA REPORT | Ukraine is planning for the decade after the guns fall silent. Kyiv wants its Western partners to help finance an army of 800,000 troops for at least 10 years after the war with Russia ends, a senior Ukrainian source told AFP. A ceasefire, in this vision, would not mark the end of Ukraine’s need for military support from abroad.
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The request surfaced as Ukrainian, Russian and American negotiators resumed U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, November 11. These are the first direct talks since February. It is a proposal, not an agreed funding package: no price tag or commitment from Western governments has been announced.
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Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, has put a ceasefire and security guarantees at the top of Kyiv’s agenda. Before the trilateral meeting, Ukrainian, American, European and NATO representatives reaffirmed their commitment to a strong postwar security framework. “Our people are waiting to end this war,” Umerov said.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky called Tuesday’s discussions “constructive and quite substantive.” He welcomed what he described as a change in the approach of U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Kushner said Washington had narrowed the gaps between the sides, without describing an agreed path to peace. Talks also covered humanitarian issues and prisoner exchanges.
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Moscow is seeking something broader than a ceasefire. A Russian delegation source told AFP that ending the war was only one part of negotiations aimed at reshaping Europe’s security system. Russia also demands Ukrainian withdrawal from areas of the Donetsk region still held by Kyiv, a concession Zelensky has rejected.
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The military question sharpens that divide. Ukraine wants an army capable of deterring another Russian invasion even after a peace agreement; Russia wants a security arrangement that addresses its own demands across Europe. Whether Western governments will finance Kyiv’s proposed force remains unresolved.
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For now, negotiators can discuss how to stop the shooting. Kyiv is asking its allies to decide who will pay to keep 800,000 soldiers ready when it stops.