As Washington ramps up its negotiations with Ukraine and Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump expresses optimism that a peace deal could be close, there are still some very critical and contentious issues on which Kyiv and Moscow are in deep disagreement.

There has been no consensus on control over the disputed regions in Eastern Ukraine, nor on the issue of security guarantees.

The latter is a crucial point for Kyiv. If there is a peace deal, Ukraine wants a strong deterrent in place to prevent Russia from attacking again. If it does, Kyiv wants military backup from its allies.

What does Ukraine want?

Ukraine wants binding security guarantees, not just assurances from its allies.

In 1994, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it agreed to give up what had been Moscow's nuclear w

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