Moscow has sharply condemned a declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine by a so-called “coalition of the willing,” arguing the document has nothing to do with a peaceful settlement. Any Western military presence on Ukrainian territory would be treated as intervention and a “legitimate target for strikes,” Russian officials said.
State news agency TASS quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that the deployment in Ukraine of Western military units, facilities, weapons depots or other infrastructure would be viewed by Moscow as direct interference that threatens the security of not only Russia but other European states.
She added that any such European sites would automatically be considered “legitimate military targets” for Russia’s armed forces, noting that Moscow has repeatedly issued similar public warnings.
The comments follow a declaration signed in Paris on January 6 under a UK- and France-led “coalition of the willing,” with Ukraine’s participation. Zakharova said the initiative is “aimed not at achieving lasting peace and security, but at continuing militarization, escalation and expanding the conflict.”
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s assessment, the newly signed document does not create a stable security architecture and instead deepens confrontation.
Zakharova singled out provisions on stationing “multinational forces” in Ukraine that, according to the declaration’s authors, would help rebuild Ukraine’s armed forces and provide deterrence against Russia after the active phase of hostilities ends. She also pointed to plans to deepen cooperation between Ukraine’s defense industry and NATO countries, arguing that, taken together, these steps signal the formation of an “axis of war,” not a push for peace. “New militaristic declarations by the so-called coalition of the willing and the Kyiv regime form in them a real ‘axis of war,’” she said.
Earlier, The Times reported that France and the United Kingdom could send up to 15,000 troops to Ukraine after a peace agreement, while Germany would be prepared to station its contingent only near Ukraine.
