The remarks come amid ongoing uncertainty around possible alternative workable security guarantees for Ukraine given the reluctance of some NATO members to invite Ukraine to join the alliance.
Previously floated ideas have included the presence of European troops on the ground in Ukraine, but without an open signal from Washington backing the idea, little progress has been made.
“It doesn’t matter what country these forces are from. In any case, we need 1.5 million troops if we are not in NATO,” Zelensky said.
“If we really want not to be afraid of a new occupation or a new Russian invasion, these are real security guarantees. (Vladimir) Putin will know that he has a 1.5 million army, and Ukraine has a 1.5 million army. If he wants to come and die (in Ukraine), he is welcome to do so,” Zelensky added.
Ukraine currently has 110 combat brigades, while Russia has 220, according to Zelensky. “So, we need 220.”
Ukraine officially applied to join NATO in September 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion. While NATO members asserted at the 2024 summit in Washington, D.C., that Ukraine’s path to membership is “irreversible,” they have yet to extend a formal invitation.
Ukraine has relied on NATO member states for military aid in its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine regularly holds visits and summits with NATO leaders.
Zelensky has also stated that President Vladimir Putin is the only Russian official he is prepared to negotiate with, ruling out any format that would involve any other of Moscow’s representatives.
Zelensky issued a decree in 2022 expressly banning any interaction with the Russian head of state. However, earlier this month, the Ukrainian leader appeared to flip-flop on the issue, telling British journalist Piers Morgan that he would meet Putin if that proves to be the “only setup in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine.”
Addressing Munich Security Conference attendees on Friday, Zelensky insisted that he was “not going to meet with Russians. I will meet with one Russian only – with Putin.” The official hastened to add that it is only after Ukraine, the US and the EU have devised a “common plan,” that he “will sit down with Putin, and we will stop the war.”
Zelensky emphasized that he would not accept “any other compromise arrangements” and expressed his hope that US President Donald Trump would side with Kiev and “really help us,” as opposed to being a mere mediator.
Speaking of his country’s long-standing aspirations to join NATO, Zelensky acknowledged that he has “never heard during conversations at the presidential level that we will be in NATO. Ever.” The Ukrainian leader suggested that Trump’s skeptical stance does not differ from that of his predecessors.
