Russia responds to the debate over security guarantees by attacking western Ukraine

LondonA wave of Russian missile and drone attacks hit western Ukraine again early Thursday morning. Although attacks on Lviv and western Ukraine have occurred from time to time, the area is far from the front lines of the conflict in Donbas. The offensive has caused at least one death and fourteen injuries. The explosions, which were heard in the regions of Mukachevo, Lviv, Lutsk, and Rivne, once again highlighted Russia's ability to strike anywhere in Ukrainian territory. Not including the victims last night, from the Alaska summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin At least 31 civilians were killed and 145 were injured.

The new attack, with 574 drones and more than 40 missiles, appears to be a direct warning to the Western powers, which have been discussing possible security guarantees for Ukraine in the last 72 hours in the event of a peace. During these meetings The possible presence of Western troops in Ukraine has been discussed as part of a future agreement.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has made it clear that Russia must have the power to veto any foreign troop presence in Ukraine, an idea that directly opposes the demands of both President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European partners. According to a recent report, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has already informed his European counterparts that the United States intends to play a minimal role in these guarantees, despite President Trump saying in a Fox interview Tuesday that the United States could provide air cover.

But in a further distancing that leaves everything up in the air and the possibility of peace even more remote, Vice President J.D. Vance said early this morning in an interview on Fox News that Europe will have to bear the brunt of the security guarantees if a peace is reached. Meanwhile, a senior NATO official told Politico that "it's becoming clear that the US isn't fully committed to anything."

The Alaskan Hangover

After the Alaskan fireworks, which only served to rehabilitate Putin internationally, and from Trump's summit with Zelensky and the Europeans At the beginning of this week, the possibility of peace or a truce is fading. This Wednesday, in a meeting with Western journalists in Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelensky once again demanded a "strong reaction" from the United States if Putin does not want to meet with him.

Zelensky assured that in the coming days "Ukraine hopes to clarify" the characteristics of the security guarantees, equivalent to NATO's Article 5, that each country in the Coalition of the Willing could provide. Contrary to popular belief, however, Article 5 of the NATO, which states that an attack against one partner means an attack against all, leaves it up to each country to choose how it will join a possible response.

Despite Zelensky's demand, then, beyond very vague threats and all kinds of contradictions, Trump prefers not to specify anything in order to keep Putin at his side. Thus, the Kremlin is buying time and advancing on the Donbas, albeit very slowly and at a very high cost in human lives: 830 in the last 24 hours alone, according to Ukrainian sources. Ukraine and Europe, once again, are exposed to the whims of the US president and his fondness for televised diplomatic shows.