The U.S. linked security guarantees for Ukraine to giving up Donbas, the Financial Times reports

The White House has signaled to Ukraine’s authorities that obtaining U.S. security guarantees depends on signing a peace agreement that предусматривает abandoning the Donbas in Russia’s favor.

The Financial Times (FT) reported this, citing eight sources familiar with the negotiations.

According to the newspaper, if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the parts of the Donbas they currently control, Washington is also prepared to promise Kyiv more weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in peacetime.

The guarantees, the sources said, could include continued arms supplies to Ukraine’s military and a clause resembling NATO’s collective-defense article—i.e., a pledge of a coordinated military response in the event of a renewed attack. At the same time, FT’s interlocutors said such guarantees might be too vague for Kyiv and too broad for Moscow.

Whether the United States would take on specific commitments remains unclear, a senior Ukrainian official told the paper. “They stop every time security guarantees might be signed,” he noted. According to FT, the Ukrainian authorities insist on clear guarantees before accepting any territorial concessions.

An unofficial source in Kyiv confirmed to FT that the American side is “using the guarantees (…) to push Ukraine” toward concessions that could make “Russia sit down at the negotiating table.” According to the source, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in Davos to refine a security-guarantees document, and this became one of the reasons the agreement was not signed during the summit.

The White House officially rejected FT’s report. Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly called the publication an outright lie.

“It’s unfortunate that the Financial Times allows malicious actors to anonymously lie in order to derail the peace process, which is at an excellent stage after the historic trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi,” Kelly said.

A source familiar with the U.S. position insists that Washington is not trying to impose any territorial concessions on Ukraine.

Russian authorities insist that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the Donbas areas under Kyiv’s control as a condition for ending the conflict. In Kyiv, however, they emphasize that any troop withdrawal must be mutual.

After the Abu Dhabi talks, Zelenskyy again said that Ukraine does not intend to give up territory and that all sides must be ready for compromises.