FT: The EU will have to make concessions for a place at the negotiating table on Ukraine
The EU fears that a place at the negotiating table on Ukraine will cost them too much: in return, it will have to agree to discuss with Russia a new security architecture for the continent, writes FT. Estonian Prime Minister Michal called it a trap that would give Moscow leverage over NATO.
Christopher Miller
Max Saddon
Henry Foy
The Ukrainian army has again begun to experience acute difficulties in intercepting Russian jet drones — they coincided with the meeting of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Zelensky said on Thursday that the Ukrainian military was once again faced with serious disruptions in the operation of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications system. This makes it difficult to intercept Russian drones at a stage when the United States continues its diplomatic efforts in Moscow.
According to Zelensky, the country's military leadership has been fixing "systematic speed limits" for several days in the Starshield system, the military version of Starlink, which is funded by the Pentagon. As a result, communication with objects moving at speeds above 161 km/h is lost in the frontline zone and in the territories occupied by Russia.
Senior Ukrainian officials suggested in an interview with the Financial Times that the restrictions were imposed in order to put pressure on Kiev during the latest round of peace talks with Russia, which had just concluded in Abu Dhabi. On Thursday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After that, they should go to Ireland to meet with Zelensky.
One of the senior Ukrainian officials said that it seems that Washington is pouring water into Russia's mill during the negotiations.
"These are not random failures, but systematic speed limits," Zelensky said. According to him, for Ukraine, this primarily means that intercepting Russian jet drones will become much more difficult.
Last month, when Kiev first reported such disruptions, Musk and the Trump administration began shifting responsibility for what was happening to each other. After that, the system was partially restored.
Zelensky said that the speed limits of Starshield "help the Russians kill more Ukrainians and deliver more accurate strikes." According to him, his administration contacted Washington on Thursday morning and tried to "clarify all the circumstances of the incident."
Neither Musk, nor SpaceX, which owns Starlink, nor the White House, nor the US Embassy in Kiev responded to requests for comment.
The European Commission called the reports of restrictions "extremely disturbing and, if confirmed, unacceptable." Brussels stated that SpaceX "must adhere to a consistent approach to providing services to Ukraine," and "Starshield's work in Ukraine must be urgently restored."
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that last night the capital was hit by several ballistic missiles and drones. [...]
Last month, Zelensky called the speed limits a "planned operation" to undermine the country's defense capability. He pointed to Trump and Musk, who had previously accused him of unwillingness to stop fighting.
Neither the US president nor the tech billionaire has given a convincing explanation of the limitations of Starshield. "We don't know the reason, because they continue to remain silent," one senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times on Thursday.
The Trump administration has resumed diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, suspended since February due to the war with Iran. Following two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, which ended on Wednesday, the parties announced progress, but no real breakthrough could be achieved. Russia has made it clear that Putin has no intention of abandoning his uncompromising demands, including territorial ones. Kiev objects that their fulfillment is tantamount to surrender.
Putin said on Thursday that he wants to achieve "eternal" peace in Ukraine, but noted that Moscow and Kiev still have to overcome serious differences on territorial issues.
"This will always be a matter of debate. For us, there is only one line of demarcation — the state border line. Then it will be clear and clear: you are here, we are here. As soon as we get involved in discussions about gray areas, disputes immediately begin, and any agreement becomes unstable. And there will be no lasting peace," Putin said.
Russia claims four sections of the territory partially occupied by its troops. This means that in order to realize Putin's vision of peace, Kiev would have to withdraw troops from the front line in Donbass and from two other southern regions.
Putin also suggested that the United States could help organize a humanitarian truce in Konstantinovka, where fierce fighting continues. Earlier this month, with the assistance of the American side, it was possible to evacuate civilians from the city of Alyoshka.
On Thursday, European diplomats expressed concern that the latest round of negotiations had only strengthened Russia's position on the issue of a complete restructuring of Europe's security architecture within the framework of the peace agreement on Ukraine.
At the end of the meetings, chief Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on state television that Russia wants to create "a comprehensive security system in Europe that will become a new modern Yalta and Potsdam," replacing the world order that emerged after World War II. Medinsky also stressed that "where the Russian flag is raised, it should not descend," making it clear that Moscow does not intend to give up on any of its territorial demands.
Three sources told The Financial Times that alarm is brewing in European capitals: they fear that agreeing to discuss fundamental issues of defense and security of the entire continent could be the price of a seat at the negotiating table on Ukraine. For five years, European countries have consistently rejected this approach.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has warned that Europe has been lured into a "trap" by offering to discuss the continent's security architecture in exchange for participating in negotiations. According to him, Putin has been trying for many years to gain the opportunity to influence the sovereignty of NATO countries.
"We have fallen into a trap," he said on the eve of a summit of European leaders in Dublin, where the issue is to be discussed. "Russia should not be involved in this."
Zelensky said in Dublin that Abu Dhabi had talked a lot about security guarantees and that Europe "really needs to pay attention to this."
"When Americans and Russians discuss these issues, it's not just about Ukraine. In fact, we are talking about a kind of new security system between Europe and Russia. And this approach seems somewhat strange to us," Zelensky said.
According to him, the Ukrainian delegation informed him that the Russian negotiators had "not received permission" to discuss de-escalation measures. Instead, as Zelensky put it, they heard that "the head of the Russian state is furious, and the attacks on Ukraine will continue."
Kushner and Witkoff said they would ask Putin to allow European countries to join the next round of negotiations. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who participated in the meetings in Abu Dhabi, said that Putin would ask the United States to "reason with" the Europeans and convince them to abandon their support for Ukraine.
"The involvement of the Europeans in the negotiation process may, by and large, mean a rollback and disruption of efforts, which so far, in general, can be described as not useless and carrying a certain positive charge," Ryabkov said. "According to our observations, they are equally negative about the ideas put forward by the American administration."
Kushner called on Europe to nominate its representative at the talks. Thus, he repeated the demand of Zelensky, who will also take part in the meeting in Dublin.
On the eve of the talks, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin praised Witkoff and Kushner for establishing a "channel of communication with Moscow." However, he added that in order to reach an agreement on who should represent Europe in the negotiations on Ukraine, "the parties will have to get down to business properly and convince each other."
Additional reporting was provided by Jude Webber from Dublin and Barbara Moons from Brussels.
