UKRAINIAN military chiefs yesterday vowed to “fight until the last death” — regardless of ceasefire calls by the US and Russia.
Their defiance came as the superpowers’ officials agreed a four-point plan to bring peace to a country ravaged by war for the past three years.
In the Saudi capital Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with a delegation from MoscowGetty
GettyPresident Volodymyr Zelensky insisted he would not accept a deal if his nation was not directly involved[/caption]
ReutersA senior army source insisted Ukraine’s forces would keep battling ‘idiot’ Russian President Vladimir Putin[/caption]
Ukraine was not invited to join the talks in Saudi Arabia and President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted he would not accept a deal if his nation was not directly involved.
In the Saudi capital Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with a delegation from Moscow.
The two sides agreed to:
Reopen diplomatic missions in each other’s countries;
Set up a high-level negotiation team to agree peace terms;
Discuss cooperation that could help resolve the conflict;
Remain engaged in the process.
But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later insisted Moscow will not accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine or Kyiv joining the defence alliance.
The negotiations, which sidelined Ukraine, sparked fury across the country’s army high command.
A senior army source told The Sun: “We will fight until the last death. We have nothing to lose. We are not going anywhere.”
He insisted Ukraine’s forces would keep battling “idiot” Russian President Vladimir Putin until a deal can be reached that guarantees Nato membership for Kyiv.
A senior armed forces leader, who cannot be named for security reasons, said: “The war is not about Ukraine and it won’t stop in Ukraine. Putin is coming to Europe and we can’t stop him forever.”
In the western city of Lviv, military leaders vowed not to be bullied into a peace deal with Russia.
They conceded Nato membership will not be achieved “for two to five years” but repeated Mr Zelensky’s vow that joining is essential.
Military leaders also praised PM Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to consider putting British boots on the ground in Ukraine.
One told The Sun: “Even hearing the words British boots, before anything has happened, is a huge morale boost for my people.”
They also praised the UK as a world leader in offering military support to Ukraine.
But they warned the key to winning the war is air attack and defence technologies and implored Britain to help Ukraine build up an army of drones and missiles.
Lavrov said it was “very useful” that both Russia and the US agreed to appoint ambassadors to Moscow and Washington.
But he flatly rejected suggestions that Britain, Europe or Nato nations could deploy peacekeeping troops.
JD Vance outraged Europe with free speech blast – but here’s why many of us agree
BY Ross Clark
FOR all the attention paid to them, political speeches rarely leave any lasting impact.
Most are just bundles of platitudes which have been forgotten even before the applause has died down.
But in Germany last Friday we heard a stunning exception — and from a relative newcomer to politics.
The address to the Munich Security Conference by US vice president JD Vance will be remembered in years to come as a pivotal moment in US- European relations.
The fact that it has caused so much upset to so many European bigwigs is testament to what it set out to achieve — to tell painful home truths to cherished allies.
These were no off-the-cuff comments in the style of Donald Trump, a man who often likes to say outrageous things as an opening gambit in negotiations.
This was a carefully-crafted speech with a devastatingly simple point at its heart — that if you are going to defend a country or a continent you first have to be sure about what you are defending.
Europe’s problem, as Vance made clear, is that it has itself been lax in defending the values that it professes to uphold.
It is no use calling on your citizens to defend freedom and democracy from external threats if you are not yourself standing up for those things.
Read more here
According to Russian state media, “the Russian delegation explained to the American interlocutors that the appearance of Nato troops in Ukraine is unacceptable”.
Sir Keir had said he was willing to put boots on the ground to guarantee an enduring peace. But he demanded a US “backstop”.
Defence Secretary John Healey also insisted only American military might could stop tyrant Putin.
He said yesterday: “We need a security guarantee for Ukraine, in Ukraine, that is capable of delivering what President Trump says he wants, which is a durable peace.
Trump blindsided allies
“That requires an end to the Russian attack and no repeat of that in the future. The European countries have to play a leading part in that guarantee.
“But it will require a backstop from the US, because in the end it is only the US that can provide the deterrence to Putin that will prevent him attacking again.”
The discussions about normalising relations sparked fears the US could be prepared to lift sanctions against Russia.
EU leaders insisted the bloc would keep theirs in place.
US President Donald Trump blindsided allies earlier this month by announcing peace talks after a phone conversation with Putin.
But there was anger at Ukraine being cut out of the discussions and Mr Zelensky said he feared a stitch-up.
US OR BUST
By Jerome Starkey, Defence Editor
ONLY US can deter Vladimir Putin, Defence Secretary John Healey said today.
Britain and Europe must play their part – but have no hope on their own.
Speaking after Keir Starmer demanded a “US backstop” to guarantee Ukraine’s security, he said: “In the end it is only the US that can provide the deterrence to Putin that will prevent him attacking again.”
He said deals crashed between Putin and Trump will need “a security guaruntee” to ensure it is a durabe peace.
Speaking at London’s institute for Government, he said: “We need a security guarantee for Ukraine in Ukraine that is capable of delivering what President Trump has says he wants, which is a durable peace.
“That requires an end to the Russian attack and no repeat of that in the future.
“The European countries have to play a leading part in that guarantee.
“But it will require a backstop from the US, because in the end it is only the US that can provide the deterrence to Putin that will prevent him attacking again.”
He added: “It seems like Russia and the US are preparing an ultimatum to Ukraine, talking about Ukraine without Ukraine.
“We didn’t accept ultimatums in 2022, when the situation was much more serious and nobody was helping us, and I have no intention of accepting any ultimatums now.”
The US yesterday said officials had agreed to appoint “high level” negotiating teams.
The State Department said: “President Trump wants to stop the killing; the United States wants peace and is using its strength in the world to bring countries together.
“President Trump is the only leader in the world who can get Ukraine and Russia to agree to that.”
But it warned: “One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace. We must take action, and today we took an important step forward.”
There was also anger yesterday after Lavrov hit out at claims Russia was targeting civilians when striking targets in Ukraine.
He told Russia’s RIA Novosti news outlet: “The US proposed a moratorium on attacks on energy facilities at the talks, Russia explained that it does not attack civilian facilities.
“Russia has never endangered Ukraine’s energy supply system.”
A UK defence source slammed his comments as a nonsense. And General the Lord Richard Dannatt, a former Chief of the General Staff, said: “It proves you cannot trust Russia. Anybody who thinks they can is deluding themselves.”
Lavrov himself admitted in 2022 it was Russia’s goal to “knock out energy facilities”.
But the UK’s Defence Intelligence said Russia fired 2,400 drones at Ukraine last month which “primarily targeted energy infrastructure”.
In the six months to August, Russia blitzed 36 power stations and more than 100 power facilities, according to UN monitors.
British boots in Ukraine has been met with Ukrainian joy
BY Noa Hoffman in Lviv and Kyiv
SIR Keir Starmer’s pledge to deploy “British boots in Ukraine” has been met with jubilance in Kyiv.
But in Britain it’s raised more questions than answers as to how Europe must respond to the war.
In eerie Kyiv men between 20 – 50 are few and far between on the frozen streets.
Most of them are stationed across the frontline, have been injured or died fighting what they see as not just a battle for Ukraine – but for the West and Europe and democracy.
From the UK they need certainty. Not empty words.
The PM knows he desperately needs to set out a path to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
How is it feasible for thousands of troops to come and help desperate Ukrainians when Sir Keir hasn’t even explained how he will fund them?
In an empty restaurant in quiet Lviv, I watched as five Ukrainian security chiefs guzzled a shot of vodka.
It was around their fourth toast of night – easy work for these hard as nails military men.
Having drunk to the health of their country and army, this next drink was for Britain.
The chiefs had heard Sir Keir Starmer pledge the possibility of peacekeeping British boots on Ukrainian soil. And for that they were elated.
The promise from the PM came in the wake of US President Donald Trump side-lining Kyiv to kickstart discussions on a deal to end the war with Vladimir Putin.
“Even hearing the words British boots, before anything has happened, is a huge morale boost for my people”, one military top brass told me as he slurped bright red Borscht.
The human tank added: “Many steps in the war are being made first by Britain and then others followed.
“It’s good leadership and this is how it should be. Someone needs to take the lead.”
What he and his top brass colleagues around the table weren’t seeing was the chaos the PM’s announced had sparked.
At home, former British Army chief Lord Dannatt warned the UK military is “so run down” it couldn’t lead any future peacekeeping mission to Kyiv.
Other military sources told The Sun’s defence man Jerome Starkey the army will be stretched to breaking point if thousands of troops go to hold the line in Ukraine.
In Paris last night, at an emergency meeting of leaders to strategize Europe’s response to Trump, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slated Sir Keir’s proposal.
He told reporters: “It is completely premature and the completely wrong time to be having this discussion now.”
While the response went down more like a cup of cold sick than vodka with military leaders I met in Kyiv, Mr Scholz has somewhat of a point.
There are questions Sir Keir must answer – and fast.
Security chiefs tell me that more than anything, including British boots, they need weapons.
The future of the war is in the air, they say.
Drones, missiles, and air defence capabilities are in short supply but are key to stopping “idiot” Putin’s killing spree.
The war will be far more focused on tech than people in the not distant future.
Responding to Scholz’s backlash against British peacekeepers, a former Ukrainian SAS man told me: “Germany doesn’t have to be afraid of the Russians. There’s no point in being scared.
“If we have well trained British military here on the second or third line it can be very helpful so we can send our people to the frontline.”
He added: “What I’m hearing from Germany is disappointing. Historically, Germany they are scared of Nazi flashbacks.
“There are people saying Germans can’t be on sovereign Ukrainian soil.
“This is bull**** said by people who support Russian propaganda.”
In Lviv I received a warning.
“We will fight until the death,” a security chief told me.
“We have nothing to lose. We are not going anywhere.
“But the war is not about Ukraine and it won’t stop in Ukraine.
“Putin is coming to Europe and we can’t stop him forever.”
Sir Keir’s words are welcomed – but it will be his plan of execution that really has any bearing on the devastating war.
So far that is missing.
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