Russia doubled down on its longstanding position of declaring Western forces in Ukraine “legitimate targets” on Thursday, days after France and the UK pledged to send troops there in the event of a peace deal.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry warns that the deployment of military units, military facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries on the territory of Ukraine will be classified as foreign intervention,” spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
She was responding to a “declaration of intent” signed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday at the latest meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, where they agreed to deploy forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
Russia has long opposed the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine. Zakharova said that “these warnings have been voiced repeatedly at the highest level and remain relevant.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.