The Kremlin warns against NATO ground intervention in Ukraine
The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that the intervention of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and the Western military alliance, describing discussion of such a possibility as “a very important new element.”
The warning comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron of France said “nothing should be ruled out” when asked about the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against Russia.
“Anything is possible if it is useful to achieve our goal,” Macron said, speaking after a meeting with European leaders in Paris on future support for Ukraine. He said the goal was to ensure that “Russia cannot win this war.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov said such an intervention would lead to a direct clash between NATO forces and Russian forces.
“In this case, we should not be talking about its probability, but its inevitability,” he said.
The French leader’s suggestion is likely to be a nonstarter in Washington, where the Biden administration has made avoiding direct conflict between Russian and American forces the “North Star” of its response to Moscow’s invasion. President Biden has said Washington must avoid the start of World War III and a direct clash between nuclear powers.
Western countries initially withheld long-range weapons, tanks and other equipment from Ukrainian forces out of fear that the conflict could escalate into a direct confrontation between Russia and the Western military alliance.
The Kremlin, in turn, has often responded to Western actions with provocative threats of confrontation, regularly reminding its opponents of its nuclear arsenal.
Despite bellicose warnings in the early days of the conflict, the Kremlin has refrained from launching attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies, even as shipments of equipment destined for Ukrainian forces arrive regularly from Poland, a NATO member.
On Tuesday, Mr Peskov noted the “rich range of opinions on this subject” within the Western alliance and the lack of consensus – which Mr Macron also noted in his comments.
“A whole range of participants at this event in Paris maintain a sufficiently sober assessment of the potential dangers of such actions and the potential dangers of direct involvement in a hot conflict – involvement on the battlefield,” Mr. Peskov said. “This is of course absolutely not in the interests of these countries.”
Mr Peskov said the fact that a direct intervention by NATO forces on the ground was discussed “is of course a very important new element” noticed by the Kremlin.
The French leader has described Russia’s defeat in Ukraine as “indispensable” for European security.