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Ukraine will promise to buy $100bn of American weapons financed by Europe in a bid to obtain US guarantees for its security after a peace settlement with Russia, according to a document seen by the Financial Times.
Under the proposals, Kyiv and Washington would also strike a $50bn deal to produce drones with Ukrainian companies that have pioneered the technology since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Kyiv shared the proposals for new security deals with the US, which have not been previously reported, in a list of talking points with European allies ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday, according to four people familiar with the matter.
The document does not state which weapons Ukraine is asking to procure as part of a deal but Kyiv has been clear about its desire to buy at least 10 US-made Patriot air defence systems to protect its cities and critical infrastructure, along with other missiles and equipment. The document does not specify how much of the drone deal would be procurement or investment.
Ukraine’s pitch is intended to appeal to Trump’s desire to benefit American industry. Asked on Monday at the White House about further US military aid for Ukraine, Trump said: “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons.”
The document details how Ukraine intends to make a counter-pitch to the US after Trump appeared to align himself with Russia’s position for ending the war following his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week.
It reiterates Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire which Trump had espoused but then dropped after his Putin meeting in favour of the pursuit of a comprehensive peace settlement.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Trump on Monday during a public portion of the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington that the group would like the US president’s help to secure a ceasefire before any next steps.
“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” he said. “So let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia because the credibility of these efforts we are undertaking today depends on at least a ceasefire.”
The document says a “lasting peace shall be based not on concessions and free gifts to Putin, but on [a] strong security framework that will prevent future aggression”.
It adds that recent footage in Russian media shows that the Kremlin is not serious about a potential peace deal and holds a low opinion of Trump’s leadership, citing disparaging comments about the US president made by prominent television host Vladimir Solovyov.
In one, he mocks Trump for “threatening” Russia, saying Moscow could “destroy [the US] with nuclear weapons”.
Ukraine will not accept any deal including territorial concessions to Russia and insists on a ceasefire as the first step towards a full peace agreement, according to the document.
According to the document, Kyiv also rejects the proposal Putin made to Trump in Alaska to freeze the rest of the frontline if Ukraine withdraws troops from the partly occupied eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Doing so would create “a foothold for a further and rapid advance of Russian forces towards the city of Dnipro” and enable Putin to “achieve the goals of aggression by other means”, it says.
Ukraine believes Russia’s attempt to settle territorial issues before further talks on a lasting peace agreement would create a fait accompli on the ground while doing nothing to ensure Kyiv’s future security, according to the document.
Kyiv also insists it be given full compensation from Russia for wartime damages, potentially paid for by the $300bn in Russian sovereign assets frozen in western countries. Any sanctions relief should only be granted if Russia complies with the future peace agreement and “plays [a] fair game”, the document adds.