MOSCOW (The Thursday Times) — President Vladimir Putin told US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Thursday that any foreign troops deployed in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russia, as he offered a new humanitarian mission in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka.
“Russia has consistently opposed the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine. Any foreign forces deployed there will be considered legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces,” Putin said, according to Russian state media. He said Moscow wanted any peace to be permanent.
The envoys flew to Moscow straight from two days of US-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, which ended with an agreement in principle on a large prisoner exchange but no breakthrough on ending the war. No readout of Thursday’s talks had been released by either side.
A second Oleshky
Putin proposed that the human rights commissioners of Russia and Ukraine organise a humanitarian operation in Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region, modelled on the evacuation from Oleshky in late October. He said about 400 to 500 civilians remained in the town.
He claimed Russian forces controlled Kostiantynivka and said Moscow would need five days to clear mines around it. “If Kyiv considers the city to be under its control, let it ensure security from its side,” he said. Ukrainian troops are reported to remain in the city, and his claim has not been independently verified. There was no sign that Kyiv had accepted the offer.
Putin thanked President Donald Trump for helping to open contacts between Moscow and Kyiv, and asked the envoys to pass on his thanks to First Lady Melania Trump for her role over Oleshky. Ukraine has said Russia used the Oleshky truce to move troops and supplies.
Europe’s place at the table
Kushner said one aim of the visit was to win Putin’s agreement for European representatives to join talks on the continent’s future security, and that Washington had begun discussions with European countries on that question. Moscow has opposed direct European involvement in the negotiations.
Putin said Russia had never rejected dialogue with Europe and blamed European countries for breaking off contacts. Witkoff said the planned prisoner swap showed progress and that he would brief President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Dublin for a meeting of European leaders, on the outcome.
