Putin Takes Hard Line in US Talks as Ukraine Reports Starlink Disruption Again, Digi Mart USA News (Moscow, Russia): Russian President Vladimir Putin warned US negotiators that Russia would target any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, in a series of hardline remarks made as Ukrainian forces faced renewed disruptions to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service.
During talks at the Kremlin with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on Thursday, Putin refused to soften his territorial demands and insisted on full control over four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed. He also ruled out accepting foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, describing such a move as a “continuation of war.”
Putin’s comments appeared to severely dampen hopes for a peace deal, after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was a “window of opportunity” to reach an agreement before the end of 2026.
According to two people familiar with the talks, the latest Moscow trip by Witkoff and Kushner was partly aimed at securing European participation in future negotiations. Speaking as he boarded a plane leaving Moscow, Witkoff confirmed that European representatives would join the next round.
“They’re our partners, and it’s important for them to be involved,” he told reporters.
The US envoys will travel to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Zelenskyy and debrief him on the Moscow meeting. Amid recent diplomatic activity, including talks in Abu Dhabi, the Kremlin appears to have succeeded in reframing the negotiations as part of a broader discussion about European security.
Europe, however, is wary of Russian attempts to focus discussions on a European security architecture while Moscow continues to strike Ukraine with bombs and missiles. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “We already have a European security architecture in place.” She pointed to the cold war-era Helsinki accords and the Budapest memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, adding that Russia was not keeping to those agreements.
Without a ceasefire, she said, a focus on a European security architecture was a “distraction.”
Both Washington and Moscow have urged European leaders to appoint a single representative to lead negotiations on their behalf. Putin said on Thursday that once a chief negotiator authorised to speak for Europe is appointed, there would be a four-way dialogue.
EU leaders are due to discuss the issue on Friday but have so far declined to nominate one person, with one EU official saying they did not expect an agreement on a special representative.
Kallas suggested that she, as the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, should represent the bloc alongside António Costa, president of the European Council. More than 45 European leaders are meeting in Dublin for the European Political Community summit, which brings together nearly every country on the continent apart from Belarus and Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron played down the importance of a single European negotiator, saying “the content determines the format.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it was first necessary to bring Putin to the negotiating table before deciding on a European envoy, stating: “It’s not about individuals. What matters is that Putin is prepared to hold talks.”
Separately, Zelenskyy accused Musk’s Starlink service of damaging Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian drone attacks after Ukrainian military officials reported new restrictions on the system. Zelenskyy said Starshield, a military version of Starlink funded by the Pentagon, had for several days been subject to speed limits of 100mph (161km/h) along the frontline and in Russian-occupied territory.
Similar restrictions last month prompted confusion over who had ordered them, with Musk and the Trump administration blaming each other before the service was partly restored. Zelenskyy said the latest restrictions made it harder for Ukrainian forces to intercept Russia’s increasingly sophisticated jet-powered drones, accusing the service of “helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine.” Kyiv has asked Washington for an explanation, and Zelenskyy said the disruption appeared deliberate rather than a technical fault.
