MOSCOW — Russia issued a stark warning Wednesday that any multinational military force deployed to Ukraine by Western allies in the wake of a peace agreement would be viewed as a direct threat — and treated as a legitimate target on the battlefield.
The warning followed a meeting in Paris this week among members of the pro-Ukraine “coalition of the willing,” who reaffirmed their commitment to sending troops to Ukraine once a ceasefire is in place. The stated goal of such a deployment would be to provide reassurance to Ukraine and help the country rebuild its military capabilities.
The allied nations also announced that military exercises would be conducted in the coming months to demonstrate the readiness of the planned force, officially referred to as the Multinational Force for Ukraine, or MNF-U.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed the matter directly during a briefing with reporters. “In this context, we would like to reiterate that the deployment of any military contingents from countries of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ to Ukraine is unacceptable to our country,” she stated.
Zakharova went further, adding: “I repeat: this would amount, de facto, to foreign intervention and an escalation of threats to Russia’s security. We would regard such units as legitimate military targets.”
