Moscow Rejects NATO Presence in Ukraine
In a recent statement, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was open to deploying European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine to accelerate the resolution of the conflict. However, the Kremlin quickly dismissed this assertion, emphasizing its firm opposition to any NATO military presence on Ukrainian soil.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Trump’s remarks, referred to an earlier statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who categorically rejected the idea of European troops in Ukraine. “There is nothing to add to the position expressed by Foreign Minister Lavrov,” Peskov stated.
Previously, following talks with U.S. officials in Riyadh, Lavrov made it clear that any foreign military forces in Ukraine under NATO command, even under the guise of peacekeepers, would be viewed as a direct threat to Russian sovereignty. “Any presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, under any banner… is entirely unacceptable for us,” Lavrov declared.
A Major Setback for Trump’s Peace Plan
These developments pose a significant challenge to Trump’s efforts to broker a swift peace deal, despite renewed diplomatic engagements and a noticeable thaw in rhetoric between Washington and Moscow. The Kremlin’s outright rejection of Western military involvement in Ukraine could test Trump’s administration in its early days and underscores Washington’s limited influence over Putin’s decision-making.
Furthermore, Putin’s resistance to European forces casts doubt on whether EU leaders will move forward with concrete peacekeeping initiatives. While Ukraine has signaled a willingness to discuss territorial compromises, President Volodymyr Zelensky is unlikely to agree to any settlement without firm security guarantees from the West—most notably, the deployment of European troops on the ground.
Addressing Russian officials, Putin downplayed expectations of rapid progress in negotiations. He clarified that his discussions with Trump regarding the Ukraine conflict were only preliminary. “We agreed to move toward a resolution, but we did not discuss it in detail,” Putin stated. “We are not rejecting European participation in peace talks, but there are key issues to address.”
Russia’s Strategic Goals and the Future of Ukraine
The Kremlin has consistently dismissed the idea of a simple ceasefire, arguing that Ukraine could use such a pause to rearm. Instead, Putin insists on addressing what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict, including Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership and what he describes as an anti-Russian government in Kyiv.
Moscow remains committed to limiting Ukraine’s military strength, banning foreign weapons on its territory, ensuring its permanent neutrality, and maintaining influence over Ukraine’s political direction. According to sources familiar with Kremlin thinking, Putin views the peace negotiations as a chance to reshape Europe’s security architecture—one of Russia’s conditions for normalizing relations with the U.S. being the withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe.
Russian officials have also made it clear that territorial concessions are not on the table. Moscow insists on full control over the four Ukrainian regions it claimed in 2022, even though it has not fully occupied all of them.
Thomas Graham, a former White House advisor on Russia who recently met with Russian officials in Moscow, explained: “It’s quite clear from the Russian standpoint that President Putin wants control over Ukraine in its entirety. He wants to dictate Ukraine’s geopolitical orientation and, to some extent, its domestic policies.”
Graham added, “Putin envisions Ukraine’s relationship with Russia as being similar to Belarus today. Reconciling this vision with Western goals will be extremely difficult. That will be the sticking point, and the Russians are well aware of this challenge.”
For now, Putin appears willing to keep diplomatic channels open. Trump was criticized for granting Putin a symbolic victory when they spoke on the phone earlier this month, signaling a break in the Western unity that had sought to isolate Moscow since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, the U.S. administration has echoed some Russian narratives, suggesting that Ukraine shares responsibility for the war—despite the fact that it began with Russia’s military invasion. “For pressing global issues to be addressed, Russia and the U.S. must build mutual trust,” Putin said, signaling his willingness to engage in further negotiations with Washington.
At the same time, Moscow remains committed to its military campaign, believing that continued battlefield gains will strengthen its position at the negotiation table. While earlier reports suggested that Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine was slowing, recent developments indicate a renewed push. According to Deep State, a Ukrainian open-source research group, Russian forces have seized nearly 90 square kilometers of territory—their largest weekly territorial gain since December.
Ukraine now faces the grim reality of how long it can sustain its defense if Trump decides to cut off U.S. military aid. “With every town and city Russia captures, its position will only harden,” said a source familiar with Kremlin strategy. “Moscow has time on its side.”
This article was prepared based on materials published by The Guardian. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
The original article can be found at the following link: The Guardian
All rights to the original text belong to The Guardian.
