Russia rejects Trump-backed security guarantees for Ukraine, calls foreign troops legitimate targets

Key Highlights

• The group led by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has more than 30 members that have pledged support in various forms. The Trump administration has backed the British- and French-led peacekeeping force and the coalition’s security guarantees.
• It has also agreed to provide a backstop and lead a joint mechanism to monitor the ceasefire. ALSO READ: With Russia’s terms to Ukraine, Putin seeks surrender — not a peace dealHowever, Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected the latest peace proposal floated by Trump — as he rejected all previous proposals.
• With rising attacks on non-military targets in Ukraine, including only the second strike in the war involving a nuclear-capable missile, Russia has escalated the conflict. Quick ReadsView All$100,000: Trump's price for Greenland citizens to sell their countryUS Supreme Court likely to rule on Trump’s tariffs today.
• What could happen?‘Militaristic declarations from axis of war’: Russia rejects security guaranteesAs with previous peace proposals, Russia maintained that its rejection of Western security guarantees for Ukraine was not a new position but a reiteration of a longstanding position. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Zakharova branded the Coalition of the Willing an “axis of evil” and its security guarantees “militaristic declarations”.
• She said the coalition’s “plans are becoming increasingly more dangerous and destructive for the future of the European continent and its residents”. ALSO READ: From European forces to Congressional approval, Zelenskyy outlines Ukraine’s security guaranteesSTORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADReferring to any British and French deployment to Ukraine as part of the peacekeeping force, Zakharova said “the deployment of military units and the setting-up of military facilities, storages and other Western infrastructure on Ukrainian territory will be qualified as foreign intervention that directly threatens the security of Russia and other European.