Russia Warns Foreign Forces in Ukraine Would Be Treated as ‘Legitimate Targets’

Russia has warned that any deployment of foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine would be treated as foreign intervention and considered legitimate targets, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday, citing remarks by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The ministry said the comments were made in response to questions addressed to Lavrov. It also praised US President Donald Trump’s efforts to seek a resolution to the conflict, saying he understood the fundamental causes behind the war.

“The deployment of military units, facilities, warehouses and other infrastructure of Western countries in Ukraine is unacceptable to us and will be regarded as foreign intervention posing a direct threat to Russia’s security,” the ministry said on its website.

It added that Western nations, which have discussed a possible deployment to help secure any future peace agreement, must understand that all foreign military contingents — including German forces — would become legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces if stationed in Ukraine.

The United States has been leading diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, and a second three-way meeting involving Russian and Ukrainian representatives is scheduled to take place this week in the United Arab Emirates.

However, territorial disputes remain a major obstacle. Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s demands that it cede the entire Donbas region, including areas not currently under Russian control.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it will not tolerate the presence of Western troops in Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry said Russia appreciated the “purposeful efforts” of the Trump administration to promote dialogue and address Moscow’s long-standing concerns over NATO’s eastward expansion and Ukraine’s ties with the alliance.

It described Trump as “one of the few Western politicians” who avoided imposing what it called meaningless preconditions for talks and who publicly acknowledged the conflict’s root causes.