Russia Expresses Reservations Over European Peacekeeping Proposal in Ukraine

Russia has dismissed the proposal of European peacekeeping forces operating in Ukraine, contradicting earlier statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed that Vladimir Putin would accept such troops as part of a peace agreement.
During a press briefing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed Moscow’s “negative attitude” toward talks about deploying European military personnel as peacekeepers. He pointed out that NATO’s expansion over the past 25 years was “one of the root causes” behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
These remarks challenge Trump’s earlier claim that Putin was agreeable to a European-led peacekeeping mission. While sitting alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington on February 24, Trump said he had “specifically asked” Putin about the matter and was told the Russian leader “has no problem with it.”
Western-backed security guarantees have become a key requirement from Ukraine in any peace deal, aimed at preventing future Russian aggression. Efforts to develop these guarantees gained momentum after a meeting of European leaders at the White House on August 18, where Trump advocated for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin.
However, tensions have increased since then, with Moscow hesitant to engage in peace negotiations. The day following the White House meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that any summit must be arranged “step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level and then going through all the necessary stages.”
At the same time, Russia has intensified its demands, including Kyiv surrendering additional territory in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy has previously promised that Ukraine will not relinquish the eastern Donbas region, warning that doing so would give Putin a foothold for a future invasion.