Peacekeeping troops must be ‘ready for ‘real combat’ in Ukraine: Zelensky aide

Donald Trump has warned Russia may not be genuine in its claimed desire for peace as Australian officials from Australia attend talks in Paris to further develop peacekeeping plans.

Emmanuel Macron greets Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris to prepare for the summit with the 'coalition of the willing'. Picture: AFP

Hopes of a quick end to the Russian war in Ukraine have been dealt a double blow, as Donald Trump warns Russia “may be dragging their feet” on peace, while the European Union refused a US request to lift sanctions against Moscow.

Mr Trump signalled in a TV interview that Russia may not be genuine in its claimed desire for immediate peace, while the EU asserted that sanctions would stay in place until a permanent ceasefire is in operation.

In comments to the US outlet Newsmax, Mr Trump said: “I think that Russia wants to see an end to [the fighting], but it could be they’re dragging their feet.”

He alluded to his own business dealings, saying: “I’ve done it over the years, you know — I don’t want to sign a contract, I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don’t want to do it.”

The US president had also hoped a lifting of wide-ranging sanctions against Russia as a result of the partial truce in the Black Sea negotiated in Saudi Arabia earlier this week could show the West’s goodwill and spur further peace talks.

But Brussels on Wednesday rejected any loosening of sanctions and has firmly resisted any suggestion that some of the eastern territories of Ukraine could be ceded to Russia under a peace deal.

A European Commission official said: “The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions.”

The annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community released on Wednesday warns that Russia and Ukraine believe the risks of a longer war are less than those of an unsatisfying settlement.

The 30 page document, which collates collective insights of the intelligence community, says Russia has positive battlefield trends which allows for some strategic patience, while for Ukraine, conceding territory or neutrality to Russia without substantial security guarantees from the West could prompt domestic backlash and future insecurity.

The report notes that “Russia in the past year has seized the upper hand in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is on a path to accrue greater leverage to press Kyiv and its Western backers to negotiate an end to the war that grants Moscow concessions it seeks.”

The report warns that continuing the Russia-Ukraine war perpetuates strategic risks to the United States of unintended escalation to large-scale war, the potential use of nuclear weapons, heightened insecurity among NATO Allies, particularly in Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe, and a more emboldened China and North Korea.

Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are interested in continuing discussions with the United States on how to end the war and have shown a willingness to test partial ceasefires, the report notes.

It says Mr Putin probably is attuned to the potential for protracted conflict to drag down the Russian economy and prompt undesired escalation with the West, while Mr Zelensky probably understands that his position is weakening, the future of Western assistance is uncertain, and a ceasefire may ultimately become a necessary recourse.

“Even though Russian President Putin will be unable to achieve the total victory he envisioned when initiating the large-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia retains momentum as a grinding war of attrition plays to Russia’s military advantages,’’ the report states.

“This grinding war of attrition will lead to a gradual but steady erosion of Kyiv’s position on the battlefield, regardless of any US or allied attempts to impose new and greater costs on Moscow.”

The reports suggests this is because despite recruitment challenges, Russia has regularly generated sufficient personnel to replenish losses and create new units to sustain attacks on multiple frontline axes and has rising defence spending and investments in a high level of production of critical capabilities such as artillery, long range missiles, drones and glide bombs ensuring Russia retains a firepower advantage over Ukraine.

Peacekeeping troops must be ready for ‘real combat’ in Ukraine

Troops deployed to Ukraine under any “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force must be “really serious” and “ready to be engaged in real combat”, a senior aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered for Australia to be part of the British and French-led coalition, “to contribute to a future peacekeeping effort in support of the just and lasting peace we all want for Ukraine.”

On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky’s key aide and negotiator Igor Zhovkva gave indications about Ukraine’s expectations of the coalition forces ahead of talks in Paris, cautioning that Ukraine expected the European peacekeepers to be “really serious” about their involvement.

He said the numbers of peacekeepers needed was unclear – however coalition countries have indicated about 10,000 troops may be made available.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s key aide and negotiator Igor Zhovkva in Paris on March 26. Picture: AFP

Mr Zhovkva said: “It’s not the amount which matters, it’s also their readiness to fight, their readiness to defend, their readiness to be equipped, and their readiness to understand that Ukraine is an inevitable part of European security”.

“Every soldier has to be ready to be engaged in the real combat,” he said. “That’s what Ukrainians are doing for more than three years.”

Mr Zhovkva also stressed that the coalition of the willing forces should be in strategically important areas, and not in the safe western zone of the country.

He said the coalition forces could help at the border with Belarus, which would free up Ukrainian soldiers to concentrate on Ukraine’s long border with Russia.

Officials from Australia, as well as other non-European countries such as Canada, Norway and Turkey are to attend Thursday’s talks at the Elysee Palace to further develop peacekeeping plans.

The talks come as four United States troops were reportedly killed in a training exercise in Lithuania, just 10 kilometres from the Belarus border.

The four soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division went missing on Tuesday afternoon and were found on Wednesday.

It was believed the troops were inside a heavy armoured vehicle M88 recovery vehicle, which may have flipped into swamp water.

Lithuanian radio LRT said that the four US soldiers were taking part in joint Lithuanian-United States exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė.