Deployment of european troops in ukraine ‘unacceptable’ says russia

Deployment of european troops in ukraine ‘unacceptable’ says russia

Zelenskyy says he could meet Putin but only after ‘allies agree on security guarantees’; Lavrov says Kyiv is ‘not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement’; at least one person was killed in Ukraine in a new barrage of Russian drone attack.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable”, as Kyiv’s allies worked on security guarantees for the country.

“This would be absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation,” Mr. Lavrov said in response to a journalist’s question about security guarantees for Ukraine, calling them “foreign intervention in some part of Ukrainian territory”.

He also said Ukraine was “not interested” in a long-term peace deal. “The Ukrainian regime and its representatives comment on the current situation in a very specific way, directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” Mr. Lavrov told the press conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump had said earlier this week, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine. Mr. Trump also said he was working to organise a meeting between Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Putin. Mr. Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he could meet with Mr. Putin, but only after his allies agree security guarantees for Ukraine. He also warned both sides were preparing for further fighting. Russia was building up troops on the southern front line and Ukraine was test-launching a new long-range cruise missile, he said.

Military coalition

“We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment.” A group of allies led by Britain and France are putting together a military coalition to support the guarantees.

Once an outline of the security guarantees is agreed, Mr. Trump would like to see a bilateral meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader said.

But any meeting with the Russian leader should he held in a “neutral” European country, he added, ruling out any summit in Moscow.

He also rejected the idea of China playing a role in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, citing Beijing’s alleged support for Moscow.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s comments came as Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight — the biggest barrage since mid-July — killing one person in the western city of Lviv and wounding many others. A later shelling attack on the city of Kherson killed one person and wounded six others.

France on Thursday condemned the overnight strikes as showing Moscow’s “lack of will to seriously engage in peace talks”, describing the strikes as the “most massive attack in a month”.