President Zelensky has stated that Ukraine's partners in Europe have not given him concrete pledges that they will protect his country in the event of a future Russian attack.
"I continue to pose this critical question to all our partners and I have not received a definitive and straightforward response yet," he stated to the press on Wednesday.
His comments come a day after the UK and France signed a statement of purpose on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal to conclude the conflict with Moscow is reached.
However, full security guarantees have yet to be solidified. The United States, which has been spearheading initiatives to halt the offensive, was reported to have abstained from signing such a pledge at talks in Paris on the previous day.
After the Paris talks, which included some three dozen nations that comprise the group termed the 'Coalition of the Willing', British PM Keir Starmer said the two nations would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to prevent any future incursion, while French President Emmanuel Macron subsequently indicated thousands of troops may be deployed.
Allies proposed that the United States would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the central sticking point of territorial concessions that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as a component of the settlement terms are continuing to be negotiated.
Moscow has not yet commented on the announcement made in the city of Paris.
President Putin launched a comprehensive military assault of Ukraine in February 2022, and Russian forces currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Sir Keir described the joint statement as "an essential component of our dedication to support Ukraine for the foreseeable future".
He continued: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which allied military personnel could function on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the years to come."
Zelensky hailed that agreement as a "significant leap of progress".
Twenty-four hours afterward, however, he seemed more cautious.
"I perceive the determination, the political resolve, and that the allies are prepared, and the allies are willing to give us strong sanctions, powerful defense assurances," he said when questioned if nations in Europe would come to Ukraine's aid.
"But as long as we don't have such security guarantees - legally binding, supported by parliaments, supported by the United States Congress - this question cannot be answered. And should they materialize, you still have to rely primarily on your own strength."
Negotiations in Paris were also significant due to the presence of envoys from former President Trump's administration, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff said the allies "mostly completed" their work on agreeing security protocols.
Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was "ninety percent complete".
Territorial concessions and security guarantees have been at the center of unresolved issues for diplomats.
The Russian leader has consistently stated that Ukraine's military must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Moscow will take control, dismissing potential concessions over how to conclude hostilities.
Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could redeploy its forces to an agreed point - but provided that Russia reciprocated the action.
Russian forces now holds about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some nearly all of the adjacent Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the industrial Donbas region.
It has been intensifying attacks against cities in Ukraine - with a focus on power facilities. Moscow is also achieving slow progress in seizing additional Ukrainian land.
Ukraine has hit back at Russian targets with drones, though with more limited success.
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