Russia
rules out European troops in Ukraine as Trump makes veiled threats
Moscow
backs away from accepting western security guarantees for Ukraine as US
president appears to vent frustration in Truth Social post
Pjotr
Sauer
Thu 21
Aug 2025 16.36 BST
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.
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