Russia said on Wednesday that sending North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops to Ukraine would be extremely dangerous and that it was paying attention to a Ukrainian petition calling for such intervention.
The petition, published on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s website, says Ukraine should ask the United States, United Kingdom and other countries to send troops to help it repel Russia’s invasion.
“The Kiev regime is quite unpredictable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the issue at his daily briefing.
“We have repeatedly said that direct intervention in this conflict by the militaries of NATO countries potentially carries enormous danger, therefore we consider this an extremely challenging provocation, nothing less and, of course, we are watching everything very carefully. “
It was unclear whether the petition would garner the necessary number of votes – 25,000 – to require Zelenskiy to take a stance on the request. As of Wednesday, the petition had attracted 1,594 votes.
NATO has supported Ukraine in the war, providing it with increasingly powerful weapons, including tanks and long-range missiles, but has not directly intervened with troops – something US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin , have warned that it could lead to World War III.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the issue of sending Western troops to Ukraine will “legitimately” arise if Russia breaks through Ukrainian lines and Kiev requests them.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia would target French troops if they were sent to Ukraine.
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