Nato and the UK have hit back at Vladimir Putin’s threat that Russia is ‘ready for war’ with Europe.
British prime minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said Putin’s comments were “Kremlin claptrap”, while Nato secretary general Mark Rutte insisted the alliance was “willing to do what it takes to protect our one billion people and secure our territory.”
The ramping up of rhetoric comes as hopes for a US-brokered peace deal in Ukraine fade. On Wednesday, a planned meeting between Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and a US delegation was cancelled, hours after President Donald Trump’s team appeared to leave Moscow empty-handed.
Nevertheless, Rutte insisted Trump “is the only person in the whole world able to break the deadlock” over the Ukraine war.
“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 what it takes to protect our one billion people and secure our territory. Putin believes he can outlast us, but we are not going anywhere.”
Progress on peace talks appears to have stalled following a five-hour meeting on Tuesday, between Russian officials including Kirill Dmitriev, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Kremlin has denied it had outright rejected a deal, claiming that disagreement was part of a “normal working process and a search for compromise.”
Witkoff and Kushner had been due to fly to Brussels after Moscow to speak with the Ukrainians, but instead returned to Washington the same day.
Rutte hinted at the deadlock in his address on Wednesday, citing Trump as the only person capable of reaching an agreement.
“There is only one person in the whole world who is able to break the deadlock,” Rutte said. “That is the American President Donald J Trump.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Witkoff had been in touch with the Ukrainian delegation after his talks in Moscow.
“There was contact between the head of the Ukrainian delegation and Mr Witkoff,” 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, coming after accusations Trump’s original 28 point plan for peace was a “Russian wishlist”.
The latest development is another blow to Ukraine’s diplomatic team, and comes after lead negotiator and Zelensky’s right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, was forced to resign as chief of staff amid a $100m corruption scandal. He was replaced by Rustem Umerov, the country’s former defence minister.
Hours after Russia reportedly rejected the deal, it launched new drone strikes overwhelming Ukraine’s air defence systems with relentless bombardment for five hours deploying 430 drones and nearly 20 missiles.
The attacks targeted electrical grids, railway sidings and gas-fired power stations as well as apartment buildings. At least eight people were killed in the onslaught and power was cut off to half of the capital for most of the day.
Putin’s inflammatory comments about war in Europe came just hours before the talks between the US delegation and Russian officials began on Tuesday.
“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” the Russian leader said. “They are on the side of war.”
He accused Europe of making demands on a possible peace settlement for Ukraine, which he said Russia found “absolutely unacceptable”. He warned there would be “nobody left to negotiate peace with” when finished.
Europe continued to signal its support for Ukraine on Wednesday, while pushing back against Putin’s remarks the day before.
UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper promised to provide an additional £10 million for Ukraine to repair its energy infrastructure after recent Russia attacks.
“Two presidents are seeking peace – President Trump and President Zelensky,” she said as she met with Nato foreign ministers.
“But so far, all we have seen from President Putin is an attempt to escalate war. Putin should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table.”
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After Putin’s chilling threat, is Europe ready for war with Russia?
