Russia opposed to European security guarantees for Ukraine, says Kremlin

Russia is opposed to European proposals connected information guarantees for Ukraine and volition not let the beingness of NATO troops connected its neighbour’s territory, the Kremlin has said.

Speaking to reporters successful Moscow connected Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said portion Moscow welcomed caller efforts by United States President Donald Trump to negociate an extremity to the warfare successful Ukraine, helium reiterated that Russia would not judge a European unit deployment determination arsenic portion of information guarantees for Kyiv, arsenic that would equate to a NATO beingness successful its neighbour’s territory – thing it had agelong opposed.

“In fact, astatine the precise beginning, it was the advancement of NATO subject infrastructure and the infiltration of this subject infrastructure into Ukraine that could astir apt beryllium named among the basal causes of the struggle concern that arose,” said Peskov.

“So we person a antagonistic cognition towards these discussions.”

Security guarantees against aboriginal Russian aggression loom arsenic a cardinal information successful efforts to negociate an extremity to Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying helium wants guarantees arsenic portion of a imaginable bid woody to beryllium arsenic adjacent arsenic imaginable to NATO’s Article 5, which holds an onslaught against 1 subordinate authorities to beryllium an onslaught connected all.

Trump has said the US volition not enactment troops connected the crushed successful Ukraine arsenic portion of immoderate aboriginal information guarantees, indicating that European countries should shoulder astir of the burden of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. Russia insists determination indispensable beryllium nary unit beingness from NATO countries deployed successful Ukraine, and alternatively says it should beryllium 1 of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security.

In comments to reporters, Peskov described Trump’s efforts to extremity the warfare arsenic “very important” and said this month’s US-Russia statesmanlike acme successful Alaska had been “very substantive, constructive and useful”, adding that Moscow hoped the efforts would continue.

But portion information guarantees were “one of the astir important topics” successful the negotiations, Russia did not judge it was adjuvant to sermon them successful public, helium said.

Zelenskyy calls for action

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said successful a station connected X connected Wednesday that his teams were “accelerating the process of defining the details” of aboriginal multilateral information guarantees for Ukraine, and said the clip was close to organise leaders’ discussions connected the cardinal priorities and timelines astir the arrangements.

“Our teams are actively preparing the architecture of beardown and multilateral information guarantees for Ukraine, with everyone progressive – Europeans, Americans, and our different partners successful the Coalition of the Willing,” helium said.

“Military commanders, defence ministers, and information advisors – astatine antithetic levels, we are preparing the components of aboriginal security,” helium added. “It is already clip to organise the format for the leaders’ discussions to find the cardinal priorities and timelines.”

He said Russia is “currently sending antagonistic signals regarding meetings and further developments”.

“The Russians volition lone respond to existent unit successful effect to each this. Pressure is needed. We are counting connected it.”

Ukraine and the US person been pushing for a face-to-face gathering betwixt the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to beforehand bid negotiations, with the US president suggesting helium would see further sanctions connected Moscow amid concerns Russia was stalling.

Energy infrastructure attacked

The latest comments came aft Ukraine was deed by different barrage of drone attacks overnight, targeting captious vigor infrastructure, and the Kremlin claimed it had captured a colony successful Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk region.

In a station connected X, Zelenskyy said 100,000 households successful 3 regions – Poltava, Sumy and Chernihiv – had been near without energy pursuing the question of attacks by astir 100 drones that included strikes connected vigor facilities.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy said successful a connection connected Telegram that the attacks had targeted infrastructure successful six regions, importantly damaging state transport infrastructure successful Poltava and hitting instrumentality astatine a cardinal substation successful Sumy, the Reuters quality bureau reported.

“We respect the Russian attacks arsenic a continuation of the Russian Federation’s deliberate argumentation of destroying Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure up of the heating season,” the ministry said.

Power had since been restored successful Poltava, Governor Volodymyr Kohut said successful a connection connected Telegram.

Russia has stepped up attacks connected Ukrainian state accumulation and import infrastructure successful caller weeks, which it says are morganatic targets due to the fact that they assistance Ukraine’s warfare effort.

The Ukrainian aerial unit said it had downed 74 drones retired of 95 launched by Russia overnight, with 21 drones striking 9 locations astir the country, Reuters reported.

Zelenskyy said the overnight question of attacks – which had been “aimed specifically astatine civilian infrastructure” – had besides struck a schoolhouse successful the Kharkiv region, and a residential flat gathering successful Kherson, resulting successful injuries.

He said the ongoing attacks reiterated the request for the planetary assemblage to bash much to unit Russia to halt its war.

“New steps are needed to summation unit connected Russia to halt the attacks and to guarantee existent information guarantees.”

The AFP quality bureau reported that astatine slightest 2 radical had been killed successful caller Russian attacks. It said 2 workplace workers were killed by Russian artillery occurrence successful Novovorontsovka, a colony successful the Kherson region, connected Wednesday morning, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed its forces had taken power of the colony of Ozarianivka successful Ukraine’s Donetsk region.