Moscow on Thursday threw another obstacle in the way of Donald Trump's peace initiative in Ukraine: the Russian leadership demanded that it have veto power over any post-war aid program, The Guardian reported. Meanwhile, the Russian military launched a large-scale nighttime missile attack on Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has sharply criticized European plans to station foreign troops in Ukraine after the war. “This would be foreign intervention, which is completely unacceptable for Russia,” he said. Lavrov added that Moscow would return to the framework proposed in Istanbul in 2022, under which Russia and China would guarantee Ukraine’s security alongside European countries — terms that Kiev had previously rejected.
European leaders, meanwhile, are seeking security guarantees for Ukraine, building on Trump's promise that the United States will support Kiev in any settlement. France, Britain and Estonia have signaled their willingness to send troops to a post-war Ukraine, while other countries' participation may depend on American involvement.
Lavrov's statements have cast doubt on the future of the peace talks. After the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, US officials reported that the Russian president had accepted the possibility of Western security guarantees. However, the foreign minister's words suggest that Moscow would back down from the agreement - or that Washington had misunderstood the Kremlin's position from the start.
Trump appeared frustrated with Russia’s new terms on Thursday. In a message posted on Truth Social, he blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for what he said was preventing Ukraine from “fighting back.” “You can’t win a war by just defending yourself. Like a sports team that has great defense but is forbidden to attack — there’s no chance of winning,” he wrote, adding, “Interesting times are coming.” Trump’s veiled threats were met with favor in Kiev and several European capitals, although the US president has previously been reluctant to impose new sanctions or increase aid to Ukraine.
Lavrov also cooled the chances of a Putin-Zelensky summit, which Trump has been urging, by saying that a top-level meeting could only take place if all contentious issues were prepared in advance – which would effectively mean that Zelensky would only be able to accept Russia's maximalist conditions, i.e. Ukraine's capitulation. The foreign minister also questioned whether the Ukrainian president had the legal authority to sign a peace agreement at all.
While Trump has launched a spectacular diplomatic offensive with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in recent days, peace remains uncertain. Moscow has shown no inclination to budge on its demands, but Washington remains steadfastly optimistic. “President Trump and his national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to end the war,” the White House said.
Zelensky, meanwhile, told reporters that he immediately accepted the proposal for a direct meeting with Putin. “We are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” asked the Ukrainian president, who would expect a strong American reaction if the Kremlin ultimately backed out of the talks.
In a diplomatic climate of uncertainty, Russia launched one of its most severe airstrikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, launching 574 drones and 40 missiles, mainly against the country’s western regions. The attack killed at least one person and wounded 19 others. The targets included the Ukrainian plant of a major American electronics company. “The message is clear: Russia is not seeking peace, it is attacking American business interests,” said Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Kiev has stepped up its own drone attacks on infrastructure supporting the Russian war machine. The strikes on Russian oil refineries have sent wholesale gasoline prices soaring to historic highs.
