Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump and Putin to speak this week as US pushes for ceasefire

Russia’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko has reiterated the Kremlin’s position that Moscow is categorically against the deployment of Nato observers to Ukraine.

Britain and France both have said that they were willing to send a peacekeeping force to monitor any ceasefire in Ukraine. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said his country was also open to requests.

“It does not matter under what label Nato contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, Nato, or in a national capacity,” Mr Grushko said.

“If they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict,” he said.

The Russian official said that a deployment of unarmed post-conflict observers can be discussed only once a peace agreement is worked out.

“We can talk about unarmed observers, a civilian mission that would monitor the implementation of individual aspects of this agreement, or guarantee mechanisms,” Mr Grushko said. “In the meantime, it’s just hot air.”

Russia will seek “ironclad” guarantees in any peace deal on Ukraine that Nato nations will exclude Kyiv from membership and that Ukraine will remain “neutral”, a Russian deputy foreign minister said in remarks published today.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko said that any long-lasting peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demands in a broad-ranging interview with the Russian media outlet Izvestia that made no reference to the US ceasefire proposal.

“We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Izvestia cited Mr Grushko as saying.

“Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of Nato countries to accept it into the alliance,” he said.

Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, mayor of the Ukrainian capital said early on Monday.

Klitschko, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said that Ukrainian air defence units were trying to repel the attack.

Reuters’ witnesses heard blasts in parts of the city in what sounded like air defence systems in operation.

Russia will seek guarantees that NATO countries will exclude Ukraine from membership and Ukraine will remain neutral in any peace deal, a Russian deputy foreign minister said in remarks published on Monday.

“We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian media outlet Izvestia.

“Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance.”