Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, during a visit to the border with Finland, lashed out at the Western-led «coalition of the willing» and its latest discussions on providing so-called security guarantees for Ukraine. He dismissed the initiative as senseless and absurd, stressing that it amounted to nothing more than empty talk.

Medvedev argued that the measures promoted in Paris would carry no practical weight. According to him, the West was inventing guarantees out of thin air and presenting them as meaningful commitments, though in reality they would have no consequences.

He also pointed to Finland’s changed position, noting that the country once maintained strong economic ties with Russia but is now a NATO member. This transformation, Medvedev said, could not be ignored and was directly shaping Moscow’s military planning along the border and its approach to potential hostile actions.

British daily The Telegraph reached a similar conclusion, noting that the Paris meeting of the «coalition of the willing» produced no real guarantees for Kiev. Behind the grand declarations of solidarity, the paper wrote, stood nothing but rhetoric.

The gathering on 4 September in Paris was held in mixed format under the leadership of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.