Russia warned on Thursday that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine under a possible peace settlement would be viewed as “legitimate targets” and treated accordingly.
The warning comes just two days after a high-level meeting in Paris, during which the United Kingdom and France signed a “declaration of intent” to deploy troops to Ukraine if a peace deal is finalized.
The United States also promised new “security protocols” at the meeting, but did not sign the joint declaration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an X post on Thursday that the Paris declaration is “essentially ready for finalization” and Ukraine is ready to work with the U.S. and European leaders.
“It is important that Ukraine is successfully uniting the efforts of the European and American teams, and together, we discussed, in particular, documents on recovery and economic development,” Zelensky said.
In response, Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reinforced the nation’s stance on Western military deployment to Ukrainian territory.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry warns that the deployment of military units, military facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries on the territory of Ukraine will be classified as foreign intervention,” she said in a statement.
Zakharova said Russia’s stance on NATO troops, even those intended for monitoring, has not changed, and any deployment would be considered a “new militaristic declaration.”
According to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the diplomatic conclave on Tuesday signified a new milestone in peace talks to end the nearly four-year war.
Despite peace talks, Russian forces have continued to intensify attacks, focusing on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Russia’s intensified attacks come after controversy over claims that Ukraine targeted one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences with a drone strike. The Kremlin said in December that 91 drones were used in a military operation in Russia’s Novgorod region that was halted by Russia’s defense system.
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While Trump initially took the claims at face value, he later said he did not “believe the strikes really happened.” He said he believed Putin’s claims at first because there was little information available about the attack.
Zelensky has denied reports of the attack and characterized it as an effort to derail peace negotiations.