The Kremlin stated on Thursday that Russia would find it unacceptable for the UK to send troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission. This reaction comes in response to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's indication of willingness to deploy UK troops in Ukraine as a security measure amid ceasefire negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv.
Starmer intends to propose to U.S. President Donald Trump the deployment of fewer than 30,000 European servicemen to Ukraine, to be safeguarded by American protection, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed Russia's concern, emphasizing that involving troops from a NATO member state would impact Russia's security. He highlighted the significance of the proposal, stressing, "This takes on a completely different meaning from the point of view of our security," while underlining Russia's close monitoring of the situation.
Russia has consistently opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov labeling it a "direct threat" to Russia's sovereignty. Discussions in Riyadh on Tuesday saw Russia urging NATO to retract its 2008 promise of potential Ukrainian membership and rejecting the idea of NATO forces acting as peacekeepers in the region.