European leaders visited Kyiv to mark the war’s third anniversary. The show of solidarity in Ukraine on Monday comes at a head-spinning moment for the continent.

It's unclear why Putin has had this apparent change of mind about international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. Just three days ago, Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom said Moscow outright rejected the idea of British forces posted to a post-war Ukraine.

A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada visited Ukraine's capital to mark the date in a show of continued support from some of Kyiv's most important backers.

Russia wants a long-term peace deal over Ukraine that tackles what it regards as the root causes of the conflict and not a quick U.S.-backed ceasefire followed by a swift restart of fighting, a senior Russian diplomat told the RIA news agency.