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Russia Warns of Threat from Foreign Military Presence in Ukraine
The official spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, confirmed that any foreign military presence in Ukraine would be considered by the Kremlin a threat to Russia, which could lead to direct conflict with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
In her statements on Wednesday, Zakharova said, "We would like to remind you that any foreign presence in Ukraine, regardless of the flag, statements, or announced mandates, will be considered by Russia a threat to our country's security, which carries the risk of direct confrontation between participants in such alleged missions from NATO members, thus leading to a comprehensive conflict with our state."
Zakharova added that the regime of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "is expecting concrete steps from its European allies to send their troops, which practically means these countries entering the conflict to support the Kyiv regime." She noted that Western countries have not made decisions in this regard so far, raising concerns for Zelensky's regime.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the presence of NATO forces under any flag and in any capacity on Ukrainian territory poses a threat to Russia, emphasizing that Moscow will not accept this under any circumstances.
In a related context, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, stated that China has not sent soldiers to participate in the Ukrainian conflict, adding that the authorities in Beijing request their citizens to avoid engaging in combat operations.
In response to a question from a Ukrainian journalist, Jian clarified: "The Chinese government has always requested its citizens to stay away from the area of armed conflict (in Ukraine) and to avoid engagement in any form, especially refraining from participating in military operations on behalf of either side." He added that Beijing is investigating reports regarding claims of Chinese citizens participating in the special Russian military operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that his forces had detained Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian troops, asserting that Kyiv is seeking "clarification" from Beijing and a "response" from its Western allies.
Ukraine summoned the Chinese ambassador following the detention of these citizens. Zelensky explained in a social media post, accompanied by a video of one of the detainees, that "our army has detained Chinese citizens who were fighting among the Russian army on Ukrainian territory, in the Donetsk region. We have the detainees' documents, their bank cards, and their personal information."
