NATO and Britain have hit back at Vladimir Putin’s threat that Russia is “ready for war” with Europe.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman called Putin’s comments “Kremlin nonsense”, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte insisted the alliance was “prepared to do what it takes to protect our 1 billion people and secure our territory”.
The increase in rhetoric comes as hopes for a US-brokered peace deal in Ukraine fade. On Wednesday, a planned meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a US delegation was canceled, hours after President Donald Trump’s team appeared to leave Moscow empty-handed.
Rutte emphasized that Trump is “the only person in the world capable of breaking the impasse over the war in Ukraine.”
“NATO is a defensive alliance,” Rutte said ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Brussels. “But make no mistake: We are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to protect our billion people and secure our territory. Putin believes he can outlast us, but we’re not going anywhere.”
Progress in the peace talks appears to have stalled after a five-hour meeting Tuesday between Russian officials, including Kirill Dmitriev, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Kremlin has denied rejecting a deal outright, claiming disagreements were part of a “normal working process and a search for compromises.”
Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner were scheduled to fly to Brussels after Moscow to speak to the Ukrainian delegation, but instead returned to Washington the same day.
Rutte alluded to the impasse in his speech on Wednesday, saying: “There is only one person in the entire world who can break the impasse. That is the American president, Donald J. Trump.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Witkoff had been in contact with the Ukrainian delegation after his talks in Moscow.
“There was contact between the head of the Ukrainian delegation and Mr Witkoff,” Mr Sybiha told reporters. “Representatives of the American delegation reported that in their opinion the talks in Moscow had a positive outcome and they invited the Ukrainian delegation to continue our talks in America in the near future.”
It is not yet clear what that “positive outcome” is, following accusations that Trump’s original 28-point plan for peace was a “Russian wish list.”
On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Putin to “end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and support a just and lasting peace,” European leaders said, accusing him of feigning interest in talks.
However, Trump said his advisers believed Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine. In the Oval Office, he said, “Their impression was very strong that he was eager to make a deal.”
In the evening, the European Commission proposed an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international loans to raise 90 billion euros for Ukraine to cover its struggling military and basic services.
Nevertheless, the lack of action on a peace plan appears to be another blow to the Ukrainian diplomatic team, after chief negotiator and Zelensky’s right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, was forced to resign as chief of staff in a $100 million corruption scandal. He was replaced by Rustem Umerov, the country’s former defense minister.
Hours after Russia reportedly rejected the deal, it launched new drone strikes, overwhelming Ukraine’s air defense systems with brutal bombardment for five hours, deploying 430 drones and nearly 20 missiles.
The attacks targeted electricity grids, railway tracks, gas-fired power stations and apartment buildings. At least eight people were killed in the attack and power was cut in half of the capital Kiev for most of the day.
Putin’s inflammatory comments about the war in Europe came just hours before talks between the US delegation and Russian officials began on Tuesday.
“We do not intend to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants that and starts, we are ready now,” the Russian leader said. “They are on the side of the war.”
He accused Europe of making demands for a possible peace settlement for Ukraine, which he said Russia found “absolutely unacceptable.” He warned that there would be “no one left to negotiate peace” when it was done.
Europe continued to show its support for Ukraine on Wednesday, while opposing Putin’s comments the day before.
Ms Cooper pledged to provide Ukraine with an additional £10 million to rebuild its energy infrastructure following recent Russian attacks.
“Two presidents are looking for peace – President Trump and President Zelensky,” she said during a meeting with NATO foreign ministers. “But so far all we have seen from President Putin is an attempt to escalate the war.”
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