Russia warns Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be “legitimate combat targets,” escalating tensions after the U.K. and France announced plans to deploy a multinational force in the event of a cease-fire.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said “militaristic declarations” by a coalition of pro-Ukraine governments were becoming increasingly dangerous. It said any Western “military units, military facilities, depots and other infrastructure on Ukrainian territory will be classified as foreign intervention, posing a direct threat to the security of not only Russia but also other European countries.”
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“All such units and facilities will be considered legitimate combat targets of the Russian Armed Forces,” the ministry said, adding that the “fresh militaristic declarations of the so-called coalition of the willing and the Kyiv regime constitute a veritable ‘axis of war.’”
The warning marked Moscow’s first formal response to a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris on Tuesday, where the U.K. and France signed a declaration of intent laying groundwork for a potential future deployment. French President Emmanuel Macron said it could involve sending thousands of French troops.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has repeatedly said it will never accept the stationing of Western forces in Ukraine. Moscow says it moved to prevent Ukraine from being absorbed into NATO; Ukraine and its allies say Russia is waging an imperial-style war to seize its neighbor’s territory. Russia currently holds nearly 20% of Ukraine.
The United States has ruled out sending its own troops to Ukraine, but its special envoy Steve Witkoff said at Tuesday’s Paris meeting that President Donald Trump “strongly stands behind” security protocols aimed at deterring future attacks on Ukraine.
The diplomatic clash came as Russian strikes plunged parts of Ukraine’s industrial southeast into darkness overnight. Ukrainian officials raced to restore power after drone attacks triggered near-total blackouts in two regions. Private energy provider DTEK said nearly 500,000 households in Dnipropetrovsk — one of Ukraine’s largest regions — remained without electricity hours later. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said more than 1 million consumers there had no heating or water.
Power was restored in the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region after a blackout forced critical infrastructure onto reserves, Ukraine’s energy ministry said. Governor Ivan Fedorov said it was the first time in “recent years” the region suffered a total blackout.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, returning from a European tour to rally support, said the strikes were aimed at “breaking” Ukraine. “This is Russia’s war specifically against our people, against life in Ukraine — an attempt to break Ukraine,” he wrote on X, urging partners not to let diplomacy slow the delivery of air defenses. “Diplomatic discussions cannot be a pretext for slowing down the supply of air defence systems and equipment that helps protect lives.”
Separately, a French researcher imprisoned in Russia was freed in a prisoner exchange, officials in Paris and Moscow said. Laurent Vinatier, 49, who was serving a three-year sentence for violating Russia’s “foreign agent” laws, was swapped for Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian basketball player arrested at a Paris airport last June and wanted in the United States for alleged involvement in ransomware attacks, according to Russia’s FSB security service.
The FSB said Vinatier was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin, who last month promised to review the case after a French journalist raised it at his annual news conference. Vinatier, arrested at a Moscow restaurant in June 2024, was later placed under additional investigation for espionage. The FSB alleged he had collected sensitive political and military information at the direction of Swiss intelligence, including on combat and training plans, but said the case was dismissed due to his “active repentance.”
At the time of his arrest, Vinatier worked for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss-based conflict mediation group. Fellow academics described him as a respected scholar engaged in legitimate research. At trial, he apologized for breaking the law and recited a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X: “Our compatriot Laurent Vinatier is free and back in France. I share the relief felt by his family and loved ones.” France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, welcomed Vinatier and his parents at the Quai d’Orsay, the ministry said.
The dueling military signals — Paris coordinating longer-term security commitments while Moscow vows to treat any Western presence as a target — underscore the stakes of cease-fire diplomacy as Kyiv absorbs sustained strikes on its power grid and seeks air defenses to withstand a grinding war.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
