Putin Says Foreign Troops Would Be Targeted and Rejects Western “Reassurance Force” Plan for Ukraine
Putin has warned that foreign troops would be “legitimate targets” notwithstanding the Paris security meeting and has rejected the Western “reassurance force” in Ukraine.
The day after any truce, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to regard any foreign soldiers stationed in Ukraine as “legitimate targets” and rejected Western requests for a “reassurance force.” He made these statements following a session in Paris when Ukraine’s partners aimed to finalize arrangements for security guarantees.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, 26 allies of Ukraine have formally pledged to send troops “by land, sea, or air” to assist in ensuring security as soon as hostilities end. Macron emphasized that the force would be used to stop “any new major aggression” rather than occupying front-line positions, saying it “does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia.” He made no mention of the participating nations.
Putin quickly put an end to the initiative, saying that there are no preparations for an imminent deployment, but any foreign presence in Ukraine would be dangerous for Russia, “especially if they appeared now.”
Following Putin and US President Donald Trump’s summit in Alaska last month, which momentarily sparked hopes of a meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and a potential peace agreement, came the Paris meeting. On the other hand, Putin slammed the idea. On Friday, he declared, “I am prepared to communicate with the Ukrainian leader, but I do not see much use in it.” For what reason? because reaching a consensus with the Ukrainian side on important matters is practically difficult.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denounced “the outrageous efforts of European countries to provoke continuation of the war,” while applauding Trump’s “very constructive efforts.”
Since the Alaska conference, the UK and France-led so-called “Coalition of the Willing” has been developing plans to give Kyiv security guarantees, like as a “reassurance force” to monitor any agreement and support Ukraine’s armed forces. Zelensky praised the Paris rulings as “the first tangible step.”
The extent of US involvement is yet unclear. According to Macron, this will be decided “in the coming days.” Trump stated that air cover would “probably” be the form of US assistance, while Zelensky claimed to have discussed “maximum protection for Ukraine’s skies” with Trump. The former US president also stated that he was “having a very good dialogue” with Putin and anticipated speaking with him once more in the near future. Putin attested to his “open dialogue” with Trump.
A ceasefire must come before any larger peace agreement, according to Kyiv, a position Russia opposes. “I just don’t see the point in \[foreign troops’] presence \[in Ukraine] if decisions are reached that will lead… to long-term peace,” Putin stated at a Vladivostok economic event. He pledged that any settlement that truly ensured peace would be accepted “in full” by Russia.
Putin reiterated at the same occasion that he would be willing to host a summit with Zelensky in Moscow and would offer security. In response to a BBC question about whether this indicated Russia was trying to force Ukraine to submit, Peskov said, “Not at all, not at all.” Instead of giving in, he is being invited to Moscow to speak. Zelensky scoffed at the suggestion, writing it off as evidence that Putin “does everything to defer” talks. He stated that Ukraine would be in favor of “any format, bilateral meeting, trilateral meeting,” but not in accordance with Moscow’s demands. There have been proposals for neutral capitals, but Putin has criticized the “excessive demands.”
Western politicians worry that Moscow’s military drive is stagnating. Putin, who earlier in the week spoke with Kim Jong Un of North Korea and Xi Jinping of China, maintained that Russia’s army was moving forward “on all fronts” in Ukraine. He admitted there was “a certain light at the end of the tunnel” more than three and a half years into the full-scale conflict, but he questioned any impending agreement, pointing to Ukraine’s demand for referendums and the relaxation of martial law prior to any territorial adjustments. Only Crimea is completely under Russian authority, but Russia has unlawfully acquired five Ukrainian areas.
Additionally, Moscow has called for participating in Ukraine’s security “guarantors,” a proposal that Kyiv and its allies have categorically refused. “Because we are an enemy of NATO,” Peskov told the BBC, any foreign forces in Ukraine would be a threat.
“Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine?” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, dismissing Russia’s reservations. It is a sovereign nation. Their decision is not for them to make.
Although few nations have publicly pledged to send troops, European diplomats warn that making hasty commitments could support Putin’s narrative against the West. The United States has already disregarded ground deployments. But UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that Washington-backed allies now had a “unbreakable pledge” to Ukraine and needed to pressure Russia to stop the war. Starmer thought that the unity of the West was now “a strategic weapon,” according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Friedrich Merz, the chancellor of Germany, said that securing a ceasefire at a summit with Zelensky should come first, followed by “strong security guarantees.” John Healey, the UK’s defense secretary, commended Trump for having “brought Putin into talks” and “not closed off any options.”
An Élysée Palace source used Korea’s demarcation line as an example of a truce supported by a US-led allied force that had lasted for decades in the absence of a peace deal ahead of the Paris summit. For the Ukrainians, that idea is crucial, the insider stated.
With little chance of a truce in the foreseeable future, Putin’s rejection of a Western “reassurance force” has highlighted the distance between Moscow and Kyiv’s allies for the time being.
