Donald Trump’s peace push in limbo as Russia dampens hopes for summit with Ukraine

Kremlin rejects prospect of western peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil and questions Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s legitimacy

Ukrainians take shelter at a metro station on Thursday during Russian air attacks on Kyiv. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/Getty
Ukrainians take shelter at a metro station on Thursday during Russian air attacks on Kyiv. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/Getty

Moscow has dampened hopes of a swift breakthrough in US-led efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Kremlin has also played down the prospect of talks between the leaders of the warring states and rejected again the presence of any western peacekeepers on Ukrainian territory.

The hardline comments from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday dealt another blow to Donald Trump’s ambition of ending Europe’s biggest war in 80 years.

They also came as Moscow’s military launched another missile and drone strike on Ukraine and struck a US-owned civilian electronic plants, Kyiv officials said.

Mr Lavrov said Russian president Vladimir Putin would be willing to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but only “on the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out, and experts and ministers will prepare the appropriate recommendations”.

He also raised a long-standing Kremlin claim that Mr Zelenskiy may not have the legitimacy to sign any deal with Mr Putin, because Mr Zelenskiy’s term as president should – under normal circumstances – have expired last year.

Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 prompted Ukraine to declare martial law, under which all elections are postponed.

“When and if it comes to signing future agreements, the question of the legitimacy of the person who will sign these agreements on the Ukrainian side will be decided,” Mr Lavrov said.

After the US president and Mr Putin met in Alaska last week, the White House said preparations were already under way for a peace summit between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

US envoy Steve Witkoff also said that Russia had accepted that Ukraine must have postwar security guarantees that resemble Nato’s article five – a clause that says all Nato states will come to the defence of any member that is attacked.

A drone-maker in Lviv: Stopping Russians from killing Ukrainians is ‘an act of love’Opens in new window ]

Senior European and US military officials have started discussing the possible creation of a European-led peacekeeping or “reassurance” force for postwar Ukraine.

Mr Trump has suggested that the US will help “co-ordinate” and provide air assets for the mission, but will not send ground troops.

Russia remains adamant it will oppose the deployment of any such force, however.

That casts more doubt on the viability of any peace talks, because Ukraine says it must know that its future security is assured before entering negotiations with Moscow.

Mr Lavrov said the creation of a western “coalition of the willing” to bolster Ukraine’s postwar safety amounted to “the provision of guarantees through a foreign military intervention” and would be “absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation”.

He accused European capitals of launching a “plot” to “undermine the progress that began to emerge clearly after the summit in Alaska” and he said Moscow would “continue to follow the course that the presidents of Russia and the United States clearly agreed upon ... in Alaska and subsequent telephone contacts”.

Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to take tougher action against Russia if it refuses to discuss peace, only to back down and put more pressure on Kyiv to accept concessions sought by Moscow.

Mr Zelenskiy reiterated he was ready for talks with Mr Putin and has suggested Austria, Switzerland and Turkey as possible venues.

He also said that within 10 days he hoped to have a clear idea of what western security guarantees for Ukraine would entail.

“We are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” he said in comments released on Thursday.

“If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States.”

Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine early on Thursday.

At least one person was killed and 22 injured, and a US-owned civilian electronics plant in western Ukraine was hit by a missile, officials said.

  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date

  • Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone

  • Listen to In The News podcast daily for a deep dive on the stories that matter

Daniel McLaughlin

Daniel McLaughlin

Daniel McLaughlin is Eastern Europe Correspondent for The Irish Times