Russia on 8th January, days after France and the UK vowed to send troops to Ukraine in case of a peace agreement, reiterated its long-standing stance of declaring the Western forces in the country as “legitimate targets.”
In a statement, a Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry warns that the presence of the military forces, military installations, warehouses and other facilities of the Western states on the land of Ukraine will be categorized as “foreign intervention.”
She was reacting to a “declaration of intent” that was signed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday during the most recent gathering of the so-called Coalition of the Willing when they declared to deploy a multinational force to ensure the security of Ukraine.
“Russia has consistently been against the existence of any western forces in Ukraine. Such warnings have been expressed many times at the summit and are pertinent,” Zakharova said, and the pact of the allied countries to Ukraine could be described as a new militaristic statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has long been demanding his Western partners to offer solid security assurances as a condition of any peace agreement to prevent a possible Russian invasion.
The specifics concerning the guarantees that Europe and the US would like to provide have come to form after a series of meetings. The agreement signed on Tuesday established the legal framework upon which the British and French troops were to operate in Ukraine, Starmer said, after the two nations had already declared their readiness to deploy troops to Ukraine.
After additional talks in France on Wednesday, Zelensky told Thursday that the consensus achieved on security assurances is now practically awaiting the conclusion of the process at the apex with the president of the United States.
Nonetheless, although the US, Europe and Ukraine may make their own decision, the statement of Moscow reminds us of the fact that two sides are still so contradictory in negotiations.
The deepest attacks by Russia have become especially strong only a few weeks ago, when the aggressor is attacking energy infrastructure in Ukraine to cut off power in the middle of the winter cold when it is coldest.
Kyiv officials told citizens to hoard water, batteries, and warm clothes on Thursday in case of further assaults as the temperature will drop up to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit).
Starmer said on Tuesday that, “we can only reach a peace agreement when Putin is willing to compromise. All the words of Russia notwithstanding, Putin is not demonstrating that he is prepared for peace.”
