Putin Tells US Envoys Russia Would Target Foreign Troops in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin that foreign troops in Ukraine would be targets. He held to his territorial demands. Ukraine says Starlink military service is disrupted again, and the envoys head to Dublin to brief Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin that Russia would target any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, in the latest round of Vladimir Putin US envoy talks on ending the war. He also refused to soften his territorial demands.
Putin insisted on full control of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed. He ruled out foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine, calling such a move a "continuation of war".
The remarks appeared to dampen hopes of a deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said there was a "window of opportunity" to reach an agreement before the end of 2026.
On borders, Putin said: "For us there is only one line of demarcation: the line of the state border." He argued that discussing "grey zones" would cause arguments and leave any agreement unstable.
He also proposed a five-day humanitarian truce for Kostyantynivka, a contested city in the eastern region of Donetsk, to evacuate civilians. Kyiv disputes that Russia fully holds the town. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmitry Lytvyn said Moscow used a similar ceasefire in Oleshky to bring in equipment and rotate troops, and the details would need to be "clarified".
Starlink disruption
Zelenskyy said Ukraine's military again faces "systematic" restrictions on Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service. Kyiv, he said, is struggling to intercept Russian jet-powered drones.
He said the disruption had lasted several days and was "helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine". A similar outage in late October lasted about a week. It remains unclear who ordered those restrictions.
Europe's seat at the table
Witkoff said European representatives would join the next round of talks. "They're our partners, and it's important for them to be involved," he told reporters as he left Moscow.
Putin said a four-way dialogue could begin once Europe appoints a chief negotiator authorized to speak on its behalf. Washington and Moscow have both urged European leaders to pick one representative.
EU leaders are due to discuss the question on Friday. One EU official said they did not expect agreement on a special representative. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggested she should represent the bloc, alongside European Council President António Costa.
Kallas rejected the Kremlin's push to center talks on European security architecture. "We already have a European security architecture in place," she said, adding that the focus without a ceasefire was a "distraction".
French President Emmanuel Macron said "the content determines the format". He added that Europeans would be the ones to define and decide their future security.
The US envoys now travel to Dublin to meet Zelenskyy and brief him on the Moscow meeting. More than 45 European leaders are gathering there for the European Political Community summit. Downing Street said UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell could no longer join the Dublin talks after delays.
