Russia to target French troops if they are sent to Ukraine

Russia said on Wednesday that sending NATO troops into Ukraine would potentially be extremely dangerous, and Moscow was closely watching a Ukrainian petition that called for such an intervention.

The petition, posted on the Ukrainian president's website, says Ukraine should ask the United States, Britain, and other countries to send troops to help it repel Russia's invasion.

"The Kyiv regime is quite unpredictable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about it at his daily briefing.

"We have repeatedly said that direct intervention on the ground in this conflict by the military of NATO countries potentially carries enormous danger, so we consider this an extremely challenging provocation, nothing less, and, of course, we are watching this very carefully."

It was unclear if the petition would gather the required number of votes - 25,000 - to require President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to respond by either approving or rejecting it. As of Wednesday morning, it had attracted 1,594 votes.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the question of sending Western troops to Ukraine would "legitimately" arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian lines and Kyiv requested it.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia would target French troops if they were sent to Ukraine.

Reuters