Putin tells US envoys European troops in Ukraine would be "legitimate targets" as a new round is set

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Thursday for about two hours, then flew to Dublin to see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Associated Press reported. The BBC reports that Witkoff said a new round of trilateral talks has already been agreed with Putin. This follows the Abu Dhabi talks we covered in Wednesday's report.

What Putin said, per AP and the BBC

• European troops: any European forces sent to Ukraine after a ceasefire would be "absolutely unacceptable", Putin said, and Russia would treat them as a security threat and legitimate targets. "In other words, the war would resume immediately," he said (AP).
• Borders: Putin said Russia regards the border to be sealed by a peace deal as now covering the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed in 2022 but never fully controlled (AP).
• Demarcation: "For us there is only one line of demarcation: the line of the state border," he said, rejecting "grey zones" (BBC).
• NATO: he reminded the envoys of Moscow's 2021 demands that NATO roll back deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia will update them with "fresh considerations", and called the talks "substantive, constructive, frank and useful" (AP).

The truce offer Kyiv does not trust

The BBC reports that Putin suggested a five-day humanitarian ceasefire around Kostyantynivka, a contested city in Donetsk, modelled on last month's pause in Russian-occupied Oleshky, to evacuate hundreds of civilians. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmitry Lytvyn told the BBC that Russia rotated troops and brought in equipment during the Oleshky pause "under the guise of a humanitarian operation", and said details would need to be clarified. Kyiv also disputes that Russia fully holds the town.

Who sits at the table

Kushner said a goal of the Moscow visit was Putin's blessing for European participation, and the US and Zelenskyy want Europe to name one negotiator. Per AP, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe must first name a representative, and Putin had signalled he does not want Europeans in a full role. The Kremlin has not confirmed the make-up of next week's talks (BBC). Estonian analyst Kristi Raik told the BBC that US acceptance of discussing European security architecture in parallel with the Ukraine talks is "a significant shift" toward a Russian demand.

Zelenskyy, speaking in Dublin, said he would not surrender occupied territory for peace, and called the proposed prisoner exchange a positive step; its size has not been announced (AP).

What it means for markets and business

Nothing in these readouts moves the picture on sanctions, energy flows or a ceasefire date. The two sides' stated positions on territory and foreign troops remain far apart, so a deal that would reopen trade or ease risk premiums on Black Sea and Baltic shipping is not near on this evidence. Defense contractors, European energy buyers and shippers should treat the next round, not this meeting, as the next data point, and watch whether the Kremlin confirms European attendance. We will update when it names the date and delegations.

Sources: Associated Press via the New York Daily News; BBC News. Quotes are as reported by those outlets. This is news information, not investment advice.