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Russia Demands NATO Halt Training of Ukrainian Troops to End War

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
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Russia Demands NATO Halt Training of Ukrainian Troops to End War
A soldier wearing an “Operation Interflex” badge during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, and Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, at 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on June 23, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Russia intends to demand that Ukraine halt the training of its military forces in Western countries as a condition for ending the war, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Russian media outlet Izvestia on June 30.

“Participation or complicity of other countries [in the war] is a key issue that must be stopped in any form — including the supply of weapons and the training of Ukrainian militants,” Miroshnik said.

“All of this amounts to direct involvement in the conflict. A real demonstration of a desire to resolve it would mean the termination of these programs.”

Several major training missions for Ukrainian troops are currently active across Europe and the US. The UK leads Operation Interflex, while the EU oversees the EUMAM training program.

Meanwhile, the United States trains Ukrainian forces at military bases in Germany, where troops are taught NATO-standard combat procedures. In total, more than 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received training through Western-led programs since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.

The Russian Federation Council has labeled such training missions as “hostile” toward Russia. “Any assistance to Ukraine that enables it to continue fighting or to plan terrorist operations clearly does not contribute to conflict resolution,” said Federation Council Deputy Chair Konstantin Kosachev.

Oleg Karpovich, Vice-Rector of Russia’s Diplomatic Academy, added that Moscow’s goals remain unchanged.

“Only the destruction of the entire system in which our opponents use Ukrainian citizens in their hybrid war against Moscow will bring us closer to achieving the objectives of the special military operation,” he said.

This new demand follows earlier comments from Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, who insisted that Russia would require Ukraine to surrender all Western-supplied weapons as part of any future settlement. He argued that such weapons not only threaten Russia but also present a danger to Western countries themselves.

Grushko also reiterated a list of sweeping preconditions Moscow seeks to impose on Kyiv: setting a cap on the size of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, eliminating what Russia calls “nationalist formations” from Ukraine’s military and National Guard, recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and four additional Ukrainian regions, and agreeing never to join any military alliances or host foreign troops or bases.

Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed that Moscow is allegedly not seeking Ukraine’s capitulation but is demanding recognition of the “realities on the ground.”

“We are not seeking Ukraine’s capitulation. We insist on the recognition of the realities that have developed on the ground,” Putin told forum participants.

In his speech, he also repeated several of the Kremlin’s standard talking points in an attempt to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He claimed that Russia’s actions following what he referred to as a “coup” in Kyiv were aimed at “protecting the population spiritually connected to Russia.”

According to Putin, Russia allegedly tried to resolve the situation through peaceful means—namely, the Minsk agreements.

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