Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday Kyiv was discussing with Washington a possible presence of US troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees, and also raised what he called a faked attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence.
Zelenskiy told the media in a WhatsApp chat that Kyiv was committed to continuing talks on how to end the war triggered by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion and he was ready to meet Putin in any format.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he and Zelenskiy were “maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war although “thorny” territorial issues lingered. He was more cautious than Zelenskiy on security guarantees, but said they were 95 per cent of the way to such an agreement and that he expected European countries to “take over a big part” of that effort with US backing.
Yesterday, Russia said its negotiating stance would toughen after it accused Kyiv of attacking one of Putin’s Russian presidential residences – an allegation that Kyiv said was baseless and intended to scuttle arduous peace talks.
Zelenskiy said in his WhatsApp chat that a US troop presence in Ukraine would be a major security boost for Kyiv.
“Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the (Western) coalition (supporting Kyiv). We want this. We would like this. This would be a strong position of the security guarantees,” he said.
The White House had no comment on the issue of dispatching US troops to Ukraine under any peace settlement with Russia.
Zelenskiy said he was willing to meet Putin despite the deep lack of mutual trust he underlined on Monday.
“I told President Trump, European leaders I am ready for any format of meeting with Putin. I am not afraid of any format ... The main thing is for Russians not to be afraid.”
Russia said on Monday Kyiv had targeted a presidential residence in the Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones, all of which it said it had intercepted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the alleged attack as “state terrorism” and said Moscow had already identified targets for retaliatory strikes in Ukraine.
The Kremlin provided no physical evidence of the alleged incident, saying it would retaliate and review its negotiating stance but would not quit talks on a possible peace deal.
Zelenskiy said earlier yesterday: “This alleged ‘residence strike’ story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war. Typical Russian lies.”
In Paris, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said there was no substance to corroborate Moscow’s accusation of an attack on Putin’s residence.
US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker cast doubt on Russia’s accusation saying he wants to see US intelligence on the incident.
The White House declined further comment on the reported attack after Zelenskiy said he brought it up with Trump, who on Monday said he was informed of the matter by Putin and was angry about it. Asked if there was evidence of such an attack, Trump said, “We’ll find out.”
In Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said yesterday peace could be achieved in Ukraine within weeks thanks to US security guarantees although success remained “far from 100pc certain”.
Tusk also hinted at the possibility of US troops being sent to the line of contact between Ukraine and Russia, but he gave no details of such a proposal and the White House did not immediately comment on his remarks.
Tusk, whose country is one of Kyiv’s closest Western allies, underlined the need for movement on territorial issues.
Russia had demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from the last part of the Donbas area in eastern Ukraine that they still hold nearly four years after Russia’s invasion.
Kyiv wants fighting halted along current front lines.
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