Russia has rejected European security guarantees for Ukraine endorsed by US President Donald Trump and warned that any foreign soldiers in Ukraine would be legitimate military targets.
Russia on Thursday rejected European security guarantees for Ukraine endorsed by US President Donald Trump and warned that any foreign soldiers in Ukraine would be legitimate military targets.
In a statement, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that it was not a new position but merely reiteration of a longstanding position. She further went on to describe Ukraine’s European as “axis of war” and their commitments as “militaristic declarations”.
The Russian rejection came two days after the United Kingdom and France pledged to deploy soldiers to Ukraine as part of a multinational peacekeeping force to enforce a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia after a negotiated end to the war.
The deployment would be under the framework of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ led by the UK and France. The Trump administration has backed the peacekeeping force and the coalition’s security guarantees. It has agreed to provide backstop and lead a joint mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has essentially rejected the latest peace proposal floated by Trump — just like he has rejected all proposals so far. With rising attacks on non-military targets in Ukraine, including only the second strike in the war including a nuclear-capable missile, Russia has escalated the war.
‘Militaristic declarations from axis of war’: Russia rejects security guarantees
As with the rejection of all peace proposals, Russia maintained that the rejection of Western security guarantees for Ukraine was not a new position but merely a reiteration of a longstanding position.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Zakharova dubbed the Coalition of the Willing as an “axis of evil” and its security guarantees as “militarist declarations”. She said the coalition’s “plans are becoming increasingly more dangerous and destructive for the future of the European continent and its residents”.
Referring to any British and French deployment to Ukraine as part of the peacekeeping force, Zakharova said that the deployment “military units and the setting-up of military facilities, storages and other Western infrastructure on Ukrainian territory will be qualified as foreign intervention that directly threatens the security of Russia and other European countries”, according to Tass news agency.
Zakharova further said, “All such units and facilities will be considered as legitimate military targets for the Russian Armed Forces. Warnings to this effect have been repeatedly made at the highest level and remain relevant.”
The only way to end the war would be to accept Russia’s terms about the “root causes” of the conflict, according to Zakharova.
The ‘root causes’ is a euphemism that Russia has used for its maximalist demands since it launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The acceptance of such demands would essentially mean the end of Ukrainian sovereignty and cessation of its nationhood.
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