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

Well-prepared military needed against new Russian attacks if and when truce is reached

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KYIV - Ukraine has told the US that accepting curbs on the size of its armed forces or on its military's overall readiness would be a red line, a senior Kyiv official said, as US President 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 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.

The senior official, Mr Pavlo Palisa, told Reuters in an interview: "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."

Mr Palisa is a deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office and was part of the delegation that met US officials for talks in Saudi Arabia in March.

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