The Kremlin declared on Monday that the upcoming military exercises were specifically meant to counter the “unusual” remarks, including the comments about the possible deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine, that were voiced by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Prior to this, the Russian Defense Ministry had stated that the latter ones are “planned to be” held “in near future” according to the order by President Vladimir Putin due to some undisclosed threats made by the West.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that such a response was inspired by the controversial statements of Macron and a few of the UK officials. Calling on the readiness of, and even the potential of, deploying armed convoys to Ukraine, the statements clearly preliminarily stood for the presence of NATO troops confronting the military forces from Russia.
Peskov pointed out that what the Allies did was certainly that a new level of tension had been reached. This is quite unusual, and it should be responded to with appropriate measures. The latest interview remark by Macron indicated that the situation if Ukraine’s defense lines were crossed and needed assistance from abroad, the sending of troops from Kyiv to Ukraine would be quite a reasonable action.
“I’m not ruling anything out because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out,” Macron stated, referring to Putin. Macron expressed similar sentiments in February. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also weighed in, asserting in a recent interview that Ukraine possessed the “right” to target locations within Russia.
Ukrainian forces have relied on Western military support in their conflict with Russia. However, NATO has reiterated that it has no plans to deploy troops into Ukraine.
The exchange of rhetoric underscores the heightened tensions between Russia and the West, particularly concerning the situation in Ukraine. The prospect of NATO involvement and the potential for further escalation remain significant concerns in the ongoing conflict.
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