Pressure has been mounting on Russia to cede to Trump’s demands after Ukraine accepted the ceasefire proposal last week, though Grushko’s comments Monday made no reference to the ceasefire proposal.
He also said that Russia would oppose any troops in Ukraine as part of post-conflict guarantees, including NATO troops, with NATO constituents Britain and France both saying in recent weeks that they are willing to send forces to monitor any ceasefire.
“If [those soldiers] 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 added.
The Ukrainian and Russian militaries continued to trade heavy aerial strikes over the weekend as Russian forces continued in their efforts to retake the western Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces had gained a strong foothold in recent months.
Russia’s defense ministry said Monday that its forces destroyed 72 Ukrainian drones overnight and took control of the southern village of Stepove in southeastern Ukraine.
That came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Putin of prolonging the war and ignoring U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“The buildup of Russian forces indicates that Moscow intends to keep ignoring diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Saturday.
“We are ready to provide our partners with all the real information on the situation at the front, in the Kursk region and along our border,” he added.