Under post-ceasefire guarantees provided by the United States and Europe to Ukraine, peacekeepers could, under certain circumstances, push back Russian forces, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told public broadcaster ZDF, adding that this remained a distant prospect, Reuters reported.
Pressed by interviewers for details on possible security guarantees offered by the United States during talks in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, Merz noted that the guarantors would have to push back Russian forces if any of the ceasefire conditions were violated.
„We will secure a demilitarized zone between the warring sides and, to be very specific, we will also act against relevant Russian incursions and attacks. But we are not there yet. The fact that the Americans have made such a commitment - to defend Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire as if it were NATO territory - I think this is a remarkable new position for the United States," he said.
Moscow has not yet agreed to either a ceasefire, which both the United States and Europe have said is a prerequisite for any security guarantees, or to the presence of Western troops on the ground in Ukraine to help end the full-scale war that began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Merz further noted a "50-50 chance" of reaching a European agreement on using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's defense. He said it was essential to do so because Ukraine would need funding for at least two more years after the current European funding runs out in the first quarter of next year.
“There are reservations across Europe and I can understand those reservations. But if we don't act now and take the decision that we could take to stop this Russian military advance, when will we?” Merz said.
In the interview, the chancellor added that he was not surprised by the hostile tone towards Europe in the new US National Security Strategy, as it echoes many of the criticisms that Vice President J.D. Vance leveled at Europe in his speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.
But Merz added that it was unlikely that the isolationist tendencies of the US would persist. “America first is good, but America itself has not been good for America either. When I look at the economic data in America, I can imagine that the Americans will eventually turn to us and say: “Don't we want to talk about some issues that are beneficial to both sides?“, he concluded.
The Allies have supported Ukrainian arms production with almost $5 billion this year, Defense Minister Denys Shmygal said, quoted by DPA.
In addition, partners have purchased weapons for Ukraine in the United States for a similar amount, the minister added after an online meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine.
“Both figures are record-breaking and we want to maintain this dynamics in 2026,“, he posted on the social network “Telegram“.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister noted that Germany plans to provide 11.5 billion euros military aid next year, while Britain has raised £600 million from various sources this year for Ukraine’s air defenses.
Military aid pledged to Ukraine, however, fell sharply in the second half of 2025, according to data from the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany.
The amount is “clearly too small to make up for the shortfall in US aid“, the institute wrote recently.
The US has gradually cut off arms supplies to Ukraine since President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January. Instead, NATO has created a priority list of requirements for Ukraine, under which other countries can purchase US weapons for Ukraine.