NATO seeks to position Kyiv for truce talks with arms plan shift

Ukraine’s allies have shifted their focus from seeking a victory to trying to put President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the best position to counter Russian advances or negotiate a possible ceasefire, people familiar with the matter said.

For now, that means NATO is redoubling efforts to rush more weapons to the war-torn country as Kyiv forces are slowly losing ground, raising the specter the eventual truce may freeze the conflict with swathes of Ukraine under occupation by Vladimir Putin’s troops.

Putin has shown no willingness to discuss a ceasefire, but the return of Donald Trump to the White House has focused NATO allies on how to shore up the political will to sustain the nearly three-year war as morale starts to fade.

As foreign ministers gathered in Brussels this week have focused on how to supply more weapons, governments have begun considering various negotiated scenarios to end the war, the people said.

The discussion includes the kind of security guarantees that would protect Ukraine, while not provoking Putin, the people said. All of them spoke on the condition of anonymity given the political and security sensitivity of the planning, which is private and still incomplete.

One possible option for a ceasefire includes creating a demilitarized zone. In case of a ceasefire, European troops would probably secure and patrol it, according to one senior NATO diplomat.

Those discussions come amid recognition that the situation in Ukraine is unsustainable and negotiations should begin soon, according to another senior western diplomat. For European allies, the scenarios also offer an opportunity to show Trump they can stay relevant if ceasefire talks eventually crystallize.