The European Union has backed away from its plans to deploy troops in Ukraine, said Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrey Kelin, on Wednesday.
The EU’s plans to deploy troops to Ukraine are “dead”, warned Kelin, saying the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil would be unacceptable to Russia.
“We will not allow the deployment of any NATO member state’s troops on the territory of Ukraine because it will be another line of attack against Russia,” he said in an interview broadcast.
“We know Ukraine wants guarantees, and we also need them,” he added.
On reports suggesting the EU might deploy troops if ceasefire violations were reported, Kelin said such plans were “dead” and that Russia would only agree to a permanent peace deal with Ukraine, rather than an immediate or temporary unconditional ceasefire.
Normalisation of relations between the West and Russia, along with confidence-building measures, would help prevent further conflicts, he noted.
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“There are positive and negative security guarantees. If you send troops, this is one thing. But many agreements that end conflicts are based on political and legal guarantees.
The best would be a good relationship between the United States and Russia and between European countries and Russia, including London,” Kelin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long viewed Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and its deepening military cooperation with the West – led by the United States – as the root cause of the conflict.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that it would treat any Western troops in Ukraine as legitimate military targets.
Meanwhile, the second round of trilateral peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is underway in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. However, the two nations continue their strikes against one another, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming on Wednesday that approximately 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the war began, and a “great number” missing.
In his evening address, Zelenskyy said, “People in Ukraine must feel that the situation is genuinely moving toward peace and the end of the war, not toward Russia using everything to its advantage and continuing attacks.”
The Kremlin, on its part, said “the doors for a peaceful settlement are open”, but insisted that Moscow would continue its military operation until Kyiv agrees to its demands.
As of February 5, 2026, Russia has captured nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea and parts of eastern Donbas, since the onset of the conflict in 2022.
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