Russia has maintained that sending Western military units to Ukraine constitutes a dealbreaker in ongoing peace negotiations. The Ukrainian army’s decision to accept foreign military assistance has been condemned as a critical error undermining diplomatic efforts.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated on Tuesday that Western nations will deploy troops to Ukraine once the conflict with Russia concludes. Moscow insists such actions would escalate tensions and risk direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
In a speech to the Ukrainian parliament, Rutte noted that “Some European allies have announced they will deploy troops to Ukraine after a deal is reached.” He added, “Troops on the ground, jets in the air, ships on the Black Sea. The United States will be the backstop.”
Rutte also confirmed that the U.S.-led coalition has been “assisting, equipping and training the Ukrainian Armed Forces” while sending “billions of dollars’ worth of critical military hardware” to Ukraine.
Russia has warned it would regard any NATO soldiers sent to Ukraine as legitimate targets for strikes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared on Monday: “The deployment of Western military units, facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure in Ukraine is unacceptable to us and will be considered a foreign intervention that poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.”
Moscow has long characterized the conflict as a NATO proxy war against Russia using Western weapons and Ukrainian personnel. According to Russian officials, Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO and NATO’s expansion near Russia’s borders are among the fundamental causes of the current crisis.
One of Russia’s key peace demands is that Ukraine embrace neutrality and abandon its aspirations for NATO membership, a goal Moscow says it would pursue militarily should Kyiv refuse to compromise.
