MOSCOW, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday that any troops sent to Ukraine by Western governments would be “legitimate combat targets”, after Britain and France announced plans to deploy a multinational force there in the event of a ceasefire.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said “militaristic declarations” by a coalition of pro-Ukraine Western governments were becoming increasingly dangerous.
Russia was responding for the first time to a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris on Tuesday at which Britain and France signed a declaration of intent on the future deployment.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it could involve sending thousands of French troops. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it paved the way for a legal framework whereby “British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine’s skies and seas and regenerating Ukraine’s armed forces for the future”.
Russia “warns that the deployment of Western military units, military facilities, depots and other infrastructure on Ukrainian territory will be classified as foreign intervention, posing a direct threat to the security of not only Russia but also other European countries,” the statement from Moscow said.
“All such units and facilities will be considered legitimate combat targets of the Russian Armed Forces.”
It added: “The fresh militaristic declarations of the so-called coalition of the willing and the Kyiv regime constitute a veritable ‘axis of war’.
“The plans of these participants are becoming increasingly dangerous and destructive for the future of the European continent and its inhabitants, who are also being forced by Western politicians to finance these aspirations out of their own pockets.”
Russia, which staged a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, says it was forced to intervene in order to prevent Ukraine from being absorbed into NATO and used as a launchpad to threaten Russia. It has consistently said it will never accept the stationing of Western forces there.
Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of waging an imperial-style war aimed at seizing the territory of its neighbour, of which it now holds nearly 20%. They say Ukraine needs firm security guarantees as part of any peace settlement in order to prevent another Russian invasion in future.
The United States has ruled out sending its own troops to Ukraine, but its special envoy Steve Witkoff said at Tuesday’s meeting in Paris that President Donald Trump “strongly stands behind” security protocols aimed at deterring future attacks on Ukraine.
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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