Kremlin rules out accepting NATO troops in Ukraine to end war

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday that while Russia appreciated the efforts of US President Donald Trump in negotiating a deal, it would not accept any European deployments to Ukraine, as this would equate to a NATO presence on its borders.

The Financial Times has reported that Trump is apparently considering offering intelligence assets and battlefield oversight as part of post-war security guarantees.

Mr Peskov said: "It was the advancement of NATO military infrastructure and the infiltration of this military infrastructure into Ukraine that could probably be named among the root causes of the conflict situation that arose.

"So we have a negative attitude towards these discussions."

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He added that the US-Russia presidential summit in Alaska had been "very substantive, constructive and useful," however, Russia does not think discussing security guarantees in public is very useful.

Mr Peskov's comments come as the Russian armed forces launched an overnight attack on Ukraine that damaged energy facilities and left more than 100,000 homes without power.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an update on Wednesday afternoon to say that emergency services were working to restore power in Poltava, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.

As well as the damage to energy infrastructure, a residential building was also hit, which left people injured.

Mr Zelenskyy said: "The Russians continue the war and ignore the world’s calls to stop the killings and destruction. New steps are needed to increase pressure on Russia to stop the attacks and to ensure real security guarantees.

"We are working with our partners to exert such pressure. I thank everyone who is helping."