Moscow: Russia on Wednesday warned that sending any foreign troops to Ukraine is fraught with serious consequences, a risk many Western countries do not understand.
“As always, there are countries that take a rampant position that either do not understand or do not want to understand the terrible consequences of such reckless actions. And there are countries that understand reality much better,” state-run news agency TASS quoted Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying.
The remarks came following the plan of the “coalition of the willing” to deploy military contingents in Ukraine.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries, mostly European, have formally pledged to deploy troops as part of a future Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire, though not directly on the front line.
Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference following the meeting of the “coalition of the willing,” Macron said the countries would contribute to a “reassurance force” that could deploy troops in Ukraine or provide support on land, at sea, or in the air.
The announcement followed a virtual meeting of the coalition on September 4, co-chaired by Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The group, which brought together around 30 countries, mostly European, has committed to providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, regarding the incident of UAV entering Poland’s airspace, the Russian Defence Ministry said that it is ready to hold consultations with its Polish counterparts
“No facilities in Poland were planned to be targetted,” the Russian military department said.
They added that the maximum range of the used UAVs, which allegedly crossed the border with Poland, does not exceed 700 km.
“However, we are ready to hold consultations with the Polish Defense Ministry on this matter,” the Russian Defense Ministry emphasised.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called the incident with drones entering the country’s airspace a “large-scale provocation.”
“Most likely, we are witnesses to a large-scale provocation,” Tusk said before an emergency government meeting in a statement telecast by Polish public broadcaster TVP Info.
PM Tusk claimed that this was the first time that “Russian drones were shot down over the territory of a NATO country,” while no official information has yet been provided about the origin of the UAV wreckage discovered. According to Tusk, all the drones that posed a threat were shot down, and the situation is under control, adding that there were no casualties.
(IANS)
