Ukraine Cannot Sustain 800,000-Troop Army, Says Zelensky

(MENAFN) Ukraine cannot independently sustain an 800,000-strong military force following any ceasefire with Russia, President Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged Saturday, revealing that Kiev will require sustained Western financial backing for its armed forces as a cornerstone of post-conflict security arrangements.

The admission exposes a critical vulnerability in Ukraine's long-term defense strategy and underscores Kiev's deepening dependence on foreign aid to maintain military readiness against what it characterizes as ongoing threats from Moscow.

In January 2025, Zelensky said the Ukrainian army numbered 880,000 troops. However, leaked versions of a US peace roadmap floated last month reportedly call for the force to be capped at 600,000 after the conflict ends. Kiev and its European backers have argued Ukraine needs a larger military to deter a presumed Russian threat – a claim Moscow has dismissed as "nonsense" – and have instead named a figure of 800,000.

During a press briefing Saturday, Zelensky confronted the fiscal reality facing his government when questioned about financing such a substantial standing army in peacetime.

"Will Ukraine be able to independently finance such an army if there's a ceasefire? No, it won't. We don't have the financial resources," Zelensky said. "That's why I'm holding talks with [Western] leaders, because I view partial funding of our army by our partners as a security guarantee."

The candid assessment comes as Kiev's European backers have spent weeks searching for ways to fund Ukraine's collapsing economy and military. This week, they failed to approve a 'reparations loan' backed by about $210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets to cover Ukraine's huge budget gap. Instead, EU leaders chose common borrowing, planning to raise €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years, ultimately shifting the cost to taxpayers. Senior EU officials told media the loans would cost taxpayers €3 billion a year in interest for as long as the loans remain outstanding.

The financial deadlock has sparked internal tensions within the European Union over burden-sharing and the sustainability of indefinite military support for Kiev. Taxpayer concerns are mounting across European capitals as economic pressures intensify domestically.

Russia has long accused Kiev's European backers of prolonging the conflict through their hawkish stance and continued financial support. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week the EU appeared "obsessed with finding money to continue the war."

Moscow has said any lasting settlement must address the conflict's root causes, including Ukraine's NATO ambitions, and recognize the new territorial reality. Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is in Miami for talks with senior US officials and described the first day as "constructive," with discussions set to continue on Sunday.

The diplomatic engagement in Florida represents the most substantive bilateral negotiations in months, raising cautious optimism that a framework for ending the nearly four-year war may be emerging.

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