Moscow threw Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative into disarray on Thursday, insisting it must have a veto over any postwar support for the country as its forces carried out a large-scale overnight missile barrage.
In a series of hardline remarks, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after a settlement would amount to “foreign intervention”, which he called absolutely unacceptable for Russia.
Lavrov said Russia wanted to return to discussing a framework first proposed during the initial peace talks held in Istanbul in 2022, under which Moscow and Beijing would help guarantee Ukraine’s security alongside European allies – terms Kyiv considers unacceptable.
“We support the principles and security guarantees that were agreed … in April 2022,” Lavrov said. “Anything else … is of course an absolutely futile undertaking.”
European leaders are exploring possible security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, building on Trump’s promise to back the country under any settlement with Russia. France, Britain and Estonia have indicated they could send troops to a postwar Ukraine, while several other nations said they might take part, though much depends on US involvement.
Lavrov’s comments cast doubt on the prospects for peace talks.
After the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, US officials said the Russian president had accepted the prospect of western security guarantees for Ukraine.
But the latest statements suggest Moscow may be backing away from that understanding – or that Washington may have misinterpreted the Kremlin’s position from the outset.
Trump on Thursday appeared to vent his frustration at Russia’s obstruction. In a post on Truth Social, the US president blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not allowing Ukraine to “fight back” against Russia.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? … Interesting times ahead!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s veiled threats against Russia will be welcomed in Kyiv and European capitals, though the US leader has previously backed away from imposing sanctions or boosting support for Ukraine.
Lavrov also poured cold water on the prospect of a summit between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which has been touted by Trump. Lavrov said a bilateral meeting at the highest level would be possible only “if all issues requiring discussion are thoroughly prepared”.
He suggested that Putin would meet Zelenskyy only to accept Russia’s maximalist conditions, which would entail Ukraine’s capitulation.
Russia’s veteran foreign minister further questioned whether Zelenskyy had the legitimacy to sign any future peace accord, parroting a familiar Kremlin line that portrays Ukraine’s leadership as illegitimate.
Despite a flurry of diplomacy in recent days between Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, the path to peace remains uncertain as Moscow has shown little willingness to climb down from its maximalist demands.
Even so, the White House on Wednesday continued to strike a positive tone.
“President Trump and his national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials towards a bilateral meeting to stop the killing and end the war,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News.
Speaking to foreign correspondents in Kyiv, Zelenskyy, who has agreed to meet Putin, said he would like a “strong reaction” from Washington if the Russian leader was not willing to sit down for a bilateral meeting with him soon.
“I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” Zelenskyy said in comments released on Thursday from a briefing with reporters in Kyiv a day earlier.
As uncertainty over peace talks persisted, Russia launched one of its heaviest bombardments in weeks.
The Ukrainian military said Moscow had fired 574 drones and 40 missiles in a major aerial assault that struck western regions, killing at least one person and injuring 15. Ukraine’s foreign minister said a major US electronics manufacturer was among the targets.
“The message is clear: Russia is not looking for peace. Russia is attacking American business in Ukraine, humiliating American business,” said Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
Ukraine, for its part, has stepped up drone attacks on Russian infrastructure supporting the war, with strikes on oil refineries pushing wholesale gasoline prices in Russia to record highs.
