Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Russia said that any plan to send European troops to Ukraine for a potential peacekeeping operation would be unacceptable to the Kremlin and that it was observing such proposals with caution.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated the noted proposition was unacceptable because it would engage forces from a NATO member nation and, therefore, have implications for Russia’s own security.
“This causes concern for us, because we’re talking about sending military contingents – about the possible, eventual sending of military contingents from NATO countries to Ukraine,”
Peskov conveyed to reporters.
“This takes on a completely different meaning from the point of view of our security,”
He said.
“We’re monitoring this very closely.”
How is Keir Starmer planning to support Ukraine?
UK PM Keir Starmer has stated he is “ready and willing” to place UK troops on the ground in Ukraine, with U.S. support, as a security assurance in the possibility of some sort of a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. Starmer is preparing to present a program to U.S. President Donald Trump to dispatch fewer than 30,000 European servicemen to Ukraine in exchange for US security of the troops, the Telegraph newspaper said.
Why does Russia see NATO expansion as a threat?
Earlier, Russia has frequently said it objects to having NATO soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stating this week that Russia would consider that as a “direct threat” to Russia’s sovereignty, even if the soldiers worked there under a different banner.
Amid discussions with the United States in Riyadh, Russia also demanded NATO abandon its 2008 pledge to one day give Ukraine membership of the U.S.-led coalition and disregarded the idea that NATO member forces could be protectors of the peace under a ceasefire agreement.
“We explained to our colleagues today what President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly stressed: that the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic alliance, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation, a direct threat to our sovereignty,”
Lavrov stated.
