At the talks in Geneva there was no discussion of reducing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They discussed the size of the peacetime army. This was said in an interview with LIGA.net by Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov.
"There was no talk of reducing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was about views on the size of the Armed Forces in peacetime. This is a very debatable topic"
– he said.
Position of Ukraine and the United States
According to Hnatov, both Kyiv and Washington agreed that the best guarantee of security for Ukraine would be a well-equipped and combat-capable army.
How the General Staff plans to incentivize servicemembers to remain in service after the end of hostilities depends on understanding the future Ukrainian military. Hnatov confirmed that the General Staff has such a vision.
"All institutions must work on this. It is necessary to understand what the Ukrainian military will be like, its size, financial support, social guarantees for servicemembers and many other issues. This work falls within the competence not only of the General Staff. We have a vision. It is a working document; it is being developed"
– the lieutenant general explained.
Context
The initial version of the American peace plan called for Ukraine's renunciation of the Donbas, parts of its armament and a reduction of the Armed Forces' size to 600,000. Later the Financial Times reported that the Geneva negotiations cut the plan from 28 to 19 points, but which provisions were removed – is officially unknown.
Trump said the parties are close to reaching an agreement. He dispatched special envoy Witkoff to negotiate with Putin, and Army Secretary Driscoll is due to come to Ukraine.
