Kathrine Frich
Efforts to outline a post-war security framework for Ukraine have met a sharp response from Moscow.
As Western allies discuss guarantees meant to prevent renewed conflict, Russia has issued stark warnings about the consequences of foreign involvement.
Peacekeeping dispute
Russia has rejected proposals by Ukraine and its Western partners to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine after the war ends.
According to the Associated Press, Moscow says any Western military presence would be viewed as a direct threat.
The idea has been promoted by the so-called “Coalition of the Willing,” which Kyiv sees as a crucial safeguard against future Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place.
At a meeting in Paris on January 6, Britain and France signed a declaration of intent with Ukraine outlining plans to deploy Western forces following a ceasefire.
Moscow’s warning
Russia’s response came swiftly. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Western troops in Ukraine would amount to foreign intervention.
“The deployment on Ukrainian territory of military units, bases, depots and other infrastructure belonging to Western states will be qualified as foreign intervention that poses a direct threat not only to Russia, but also to other European states,” Zakharova said.
“All these units and facilities will be considered legitimate military targets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. These warnings have been repeatedly made at the highest level and remain valid,” she added.
‘Axis of war’
Zakharova used particularly harsh language to describe the Western-backed initiative.
She said statements by the “so-called coalition of the willing” and Ukrainian authorities amounted to “a veritable axis of war,” according to AP.
The comments underline Moscow’s long-standing opposition to any NATO-linked presence in Ukraine, even after the fighting stops.
Fragile talks
The Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal nearly three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Moscow had earlier annexed Crimea in 2014 and occupies parts of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a peace agreement is “90% done,” though disputes over the Donbas region and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant persist.
Messages from Paris
Speaking in Paris, Zelensky said allies had clarified their roles in future security arrangements.
“We have determined which countries are ready to take a leading role in security guarantees on the ground, in the air and at sea, as well as in the reconstruction process,” he said.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington “firmly supports” the guarantees, while Jared Kushner called the meeting “an extremely important moment.”
French President Emmanuel Macron described the declaration as “a significant step” toward ending the war.
Sources: Associated Press, Ziare.
