Ukraine Raised at the Abu Dhabi Talks a Request for Western Partners to Finance an 800,000-Strong Army for at Least 10 Years, a Senior Ukrainian Official Told AFP; No Agreement Was Reached
AFP reported on November 11 that, according to a senior Ukrainian official, Kyiv raised during the trilateral Ukraine-Russia-U.S. talks in Abu Dhabi a request for Western partners to finance an 800,000-strong post-war Ukrainian army for at least ten years, to deter a renewed Russian attack. No amount, contributor list or mechanism was announced, and no agreement was reached.
The talks took place in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, the first direct trilateral round in about nine months, with a first day lasting some four and a half hours. Ukraine's delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, and the U.S. mediators were Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. President Zelenskyy, speaking in Copenhagen, called the first day "constructive and very substantive." The round ended with a prisoner-exchange agreement and no breakthrough.
The 800,000 figure is not new. Zelenskyy said in October 2026 that he wanted to keep 800,000 troops if funding were secured and would not negotiate force size with Moscow, and in December 2025 he said Ukraine could not finance such an army itself and that partner funding would itself be a form of security guarantee. Ukraine's current strength is estimated at 880,000 to 900,000.
Chinese-language rewrites of this item that describe it as a demand for Europe alone to pay ten years of military costs do not match the AFP original: the request was addressed to Western partners including the United States, and it was a proposal raised in talks, not a bill presented.
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(Source: Agence France-Presse)
Source: Agence France-Presse
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：乌克兰国际军团士兵在乌东作战（资料图，2023年）。照片为公共领域作品，乌克兰国际军团发布，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Soldiers of Ukraine's International Legion in combat in eastern Ukraine (file photo, 2023). Public domain, International Legion Defence of Ukraine, via Wikimedia Commons.
