President on partner troops in Ukraine: half of allies could cease support if Kyiv raises issue

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a joint press event with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We will never ask to deploy troops in our territory. I have repeatedly answered whether we want to. Yes, of course, we would be happy (to have such help - ed.) against the Russian invasion. Because he (Putin - ed.) is an ally of North Korea and Iran. And we are at war by ourselves. True, we get help from partners, but we do this ourselves.... And if I raise this issue, with the EU, with NATO, saying please, we need your troops... if I raise this issue, half of our allies will immediately stop their support. That is why I cannot take risks," Zelensky said.

However, as the head of state added, Ukraine cannot stand against any support coming from partners.

As Ukrinform reported, Zelensky said Ukraine is preparing to actively work with international partners in December because there are solutions that can be implemented in these very weeks and months for the sake of common security.

Today, President of the European Council Antonio Costa, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit. They came to Ukraine on the first day of their mandate in these positions.