Zelenskyy: The proposed number of 800,000 troops covers only the Armed Forces of Ukraine

During the negotiations, Ukraine proposed the number of 800,000 troops, but this applies only to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answering questions in the OP chat.

"First of all, there is simply no limit to the number of the Defense Forces to 800,000, it is not the Defense Forces, it is the Armed Forces. It is our proposal, from our military: the size of the army is 800,000," the Head of State said.

At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine is not able to finance such an army on its own under a ceasefire.

The President emphasized that Ukraine does not have enough financial resources. He will continue the dialogue with the leaders, as he considers partial financing of the army at the expense of partners as a guarantee of security. The Head of State added that the Armed Forces is the number one guarantee of security.

"And we need some years, some time, a period of time to level the post-war economy and reach the possibility of financing our army independently. In the meantime, we need the help of our partners," he summarized.

• On December 11, Zelenskyy said that in the current version of the peaceful plan the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is 800,000 people – the same as the actual number of military personnel at the moment.
• The initial version of the plan proposed by the United States stated that Ukraine should give up Donbas and some weapons, as well as reduce the number of the Armed Forces up to 600,000.