Moscow Accuses Europe of 'Sabotaging' Trump Peace Deal as Security Rift Widens

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW – Efforts to finalize a U.S.-brokered peace framework for Ukraine have hit a volatile snag, with a key Kremlin insider accusing the United Kingdom and European Union of attempting to "sabotage" President-elect Donald Trump’s peace initiative. The allegations expose a deepening rift over security guarantees that threatens to derail the timeline for a formal ceasefire or buffer zone agreement.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund and a primary backchannel to the Trump transition team, leveled the charges following a week of parallel diplomatic tracks centered in Florida. After traveling to Miami to meet with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Dmitriev alleged that "warmongers" in London and Brussels are intervening to wreck the emerging proposal. He explicitly compared current European maneuvers to Kremlin claims regarding British interference during the failed 2022 Istanbul talks.

At the heart of the dispute is the mechanism for enforcing any potential settlement. While the Trump team has reportedly outlined a framework that freezes the conflict along current front lines and establishes a demilitarized zone, European leaders—specifically the "E3" group of the UK, France, and Germany—are insisting on "ironclad" security guarantees.

European capitals argue that freezing the lines without robust enforcement would merely allow Russian rearmament. Consequently, discussions regarding a European-led "coalition of the willing" to deploy troops or provide binding defense pacts have intensified following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's urgent consultations with European leaders prior to his Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Moscow views these proposed European guarantees as a "poison pill" designed to scuttle the deal. Following reports that France and the UK might contribute peacekeepers to enforce a buffer zone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned this week that any European troops in Ukraine would be considered "legitimate targets."

While President-elect Trump stated on Sunday that negotiations are "getting a lot closer," the divergence between the U.S. track—focused on a rapid freeze—and the European track—focused on armed security guarantees—remains a critical hurdle. The standoff casts significant doubt on the likelihood of a unified peace plan or the establishment of an official buffer zone before the end of the year.