NATO deployment in Ukraine ‘unacceptable’ – Moscow

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused the UK of undermining Russia-US diplomatic efforts

The presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, regardless of the pretext or scenario, would be absolutely unacceptable to Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated.

She accused London of attempting to undermine the ongoing diplomatic process toward a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict by Moscow and Washington.

Commenting on British officials’ remarks about a hypothetical military mission on Monday, Zakharova claimed that “London is hell-bent on constantly upping the ante in the conflict and pushing its NATO partners to a dangerous line, beyond which a new global conflict lies.”

“We reiterate the position that we have voiced on multiple occasions that we categorically reject any scenarios, envisaging the arrival of a military contingent in Ukraine, involving NATO states,” the spokeswoman clarified.

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Sergey Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s National Security Council and former defense minister, earlier warned that the arrival of NATO troops in Ukraine could trigger a third world war.

In March, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the establishment of a “coalition of the willing” to provide ground and air forces to monitor a potential truce or a peace deal, should Kiev and Moscow reach one.

Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Romania and Croatia have all refused to commit their military personnel.

Earlier this month, The Sunday Times quoted an anonymous UK defense official as saying that “no one wants to send their troops to die in Ukraine.”