Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Monday warned NATO leaders against deploying troops in Ukraine as world leaders work to bring about an end to the nearly three-years long war.
“We reiterate our repeatedly expressed position that we deny any scenarios that envisage the deployment of a military contingent to Ukraine with the participation of NATO states, which could lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences,” Zakharova said, directing her statements at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron formed a“ coalition of the willing” earlier this year, threatening “several thousand boots on the ground” with the support of 31 countries in response to Moscow’s escalation in Eastern Europe.
In her Monday statement, Zakharova pushed back on Starmer’s assertion that the United Kingdom would send troops to Eastern Europe, citing progress during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with President Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.
“Against the backdrop of the genuine desire demonstrated by the Russian and US leadership in Anchorage for a comprehensive, fair, and sustainable settlement of the conflict around Ukraine, including the elimination of its root causes, statements continue to pour out of London that not only clash with the efforts of Moscow and Washington, but are also clearly aimed at undermining them,” Zakharova said.
Zakharova called on the United Kingdom to “abandon risky and ill-considered geopolitical gambits” and “not interfere with the painstaking work of Russian and US negotiators.”
Still, the Kremlin launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy grids Monday.
Prior to the concurrent drone and missile strike, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump at the White House alongside European leaders, signaling hopes of ending the more than three year war.
“I don’t want to waste time, I just want to end it,” Trump said Tuesday morning on “Fox & Friends.”
But the president said ultimately, American troops will not set foot on Ukrainian soil to help put an end to the bloodshed.
“You have my assurance, and I’m president,” he told a reporter on Tuesday when asked whether the U.S. would join France and Britain in deploying forces.
“I’m just trying to stop people being killed,” he continued.