MOSCOW: Russia has firmly rejected the possibility of European peacekeeping troops deploying to Ukraine while casting doubt on an imminent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow views discussions about European military presence in Ukraine “negatively” during a briefing with reporters.
“We view such discussions negatively,“ Peskov said when asked about potential European peacekeeping forces.
He described NATO’s military infrastructure movement into Ukraine as one of the “root causes” behind Russia’s decision to launch its full-scale offensive in February 2022.
The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and forced millions of people to flee their homes across Ukraine.
Security guarantees for Ukraine remain “one of the most important topics” in settlement talks according to Peskov, though Moscow refuses to discuss specific details publicly.
Zelensky had earlier accused Russia of sending “negative signals regarding meetings and further developments” while continuing attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages.
“The Russians are currently sending negative signals regarding meetings and further developments,“ Zelensky stated in a social media post.
Regarding a potential summit with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin emphasized that any high-level contact “must be well-prepared in order to be effective.”
Peskov confirmed that Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams remain “in touch” but no date has been set for future peace talks.
Three previous negotiation rounds in Istanbul have yielded only prisoner exchanges without substantive progress toward peace.
Moscow demands Ukrainian troop withdrawals from four partially occupied eastern regions as a precondition for any agreement, which Kyiv has rejected as unacceptable.
Russia continues its military operations across the front line, with Wednesday’s strikes killing three people and leaving over 100,000 households without power.
“Russians attacked energy and gas transport infrastructure facilities in six regions,“ Ukraine’s energy ministry reported.
The ministry described these attacks as a “deliberate policy of destroying Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure on the eve of the heating season.”
Russian forces have captured additional territory in the Donetsk region near the heavily damaged city of Pokrovsk, extending their control over approximately one-fifth of Ukraine. – AFP
