ISTANBUL

Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, said on Wednesday that since returning from Washington, DC, Kyiv has begun intensive coordination with European and NATO national security advisors to advance concrete military security guarantees and prevent future aggression.

“Immediately after returning from Washington, I held the first and very lengthy coordination conversation with national security advisors representing Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Finland, as well as the EU and NATO,” Yermak said in a statement on Telegram.

He stressed that Ukraine and its allies must avoid repeating past mistakes, referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

“Everything must be very concrete and effective to prevent the repetition of aggression. We remember the mistake of the ‘Budapest’ and the decades of declarative statements. In our time, definitely no mistakes,” he said.

Yermak said Ukrainian military teams have already begun working on the defense components of the guarantees and warned of the consequences if Moscow delays peace talks.

“The appropriate steps must be taken by the Russians, or they must feel additional truly painful pressure from the world,” he added.

He also underlined that Ukraine is prepared for “any format of conversation about an honest end to the war,” thanking US President Donald Trump, European partners, and NATO for their support.

He said daily coordination with partners has been agreed upon to ensure unified positions.

The statement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington, DC, where he held talks with Trump and European leaders on security guarantees and a possible trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.