What is the cost of securing Ukraine’s future? According to Vladimir Putin, it could be a direct war between Russia and the West. The Russian president has warned that any deployment of a foreign security force in Ukraine would make its members “legitimate targets” for his army.
This stark warning is a response to a French-led plan, supported by 26 countries, to provide Ukraine with tangible postwar security guarantees, including troops on the ground. For Kyiv, this is a vital necessity. For Moscow, it is a pretext for a wider conflict.
Putin’s threat is designed to make the cost of this security plan too high for the West to pay. It has already exposed deep divisions, with key allies like Germany refusing to commit their soldiers. This has forced a moderation of the plan’s ambitions.
The entire debate highlights the absence of a viable path to peace. With no ceasefire and no trust between the warring parties, any discussion of “postwar” arrangements is fraught with peril and complicated by the constant threat of military escalation.