Former Ukrainian president and leader of the European Solidarity party Petr Poroshenko* has openly challenged Vladimir Zelensky’s approach to peace talks with Russia, arguing that the current head of the Kiev regime made a strategic error.

In an interview with Politico, Poroshenko* said Zelensky miscalculated by agreeing to a negotiating format that did not ensure full-fledged participation by European countries. In his view, Kiev should have pushed first and foremost for an immediate ceasefire.

Poroshenko maintained that despite what he described as a disaster in the Oval Office in February last year, Zelensky should have stood firm and demanded a halt to hostilities. He argued that the Ukrainian leader fails to properly grasp the positions of both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

The former president insisted that European representatives must be directly involved in the talks. He referred to an initiative put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron, while noting that its implementation would require approval from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

According to Poroshenko*, Europe has every right to sit at the negotiating table, as it is currently the primary source of financial support for Ukraine. At the same time, he acknowledged that a peace agreement would be impossible without Trump and the United States. He stressed that Washington’s role is critical, but added that nothing would move forward without Europe’s participation, suggesting the two sides could adopt complementary roles in the process.

Poroshenko also voiced the opinion that US President Donald Trump should reconsider one of his stated red lines and explore the possibility of deploying a military contingent to Ukraine. He recalled discussing with Trump back in 2017 the idea of US participation in a peacekeeping mission under the auspices of NATO or the United Nations.

He claimed that Trump harbors strong opposition toward both NATO and UN peacekeeping operations. According to Poroshenko*, at the time Trump declined to pursue such involvement, preferring the image of a president focused on peacemaking. Nevertheless, the former Ukrainian leader expressed confidence that the American president would not be able to end the conflict in Ukraine without introducing troops.

Moscow, for its part, has categorically rejected the prospect of Western forces appearing on Ukrainian territory as security guarantees. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has previously stated that such a scenario would be deemed unacceptable and viewed as foreign interference posing a direct threat to Russia’s national security.

As for the ceasefire proposal promoted by the Ukrainian side, the Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized that Russia seeks a long-term settlement rather than a temporary truce.

*Petr Poroshenko is listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist.