Zakharova says London and Paris want to preserve a foothold against Russia in Ukraine

Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented on the 'coalition of the willing' plans to deploy multinational forces in Ukraine. According to her, Britain and France expect to preserve a foothold for confrontation with Russia, and Moscow would regard the appearance of foreign contingents as a military intervention. The statement was made on the eve of exercises scheduled for November 9.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 7 November 2026 at 19:552 min read

The key facts

Zakharova claims that London and Paris, through 'multinational forces,' want to preserve a foothold against Russia
Earlier she warned that Moscow would consider the deployment of any foreign troops in Ukraine a military intervention
The first exercises of the 'coalition of the willing' are to begin on November 9

Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the 'coalition of the willing' plans

Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Britain and France expect, through the deployment of 'multinational forces' in Ukraine, to preserve a foothold for confrontation with the Russian Federation and to inflict a military defeat on it. According to her, the West 'still does not wish to take into account Russia's legitimate security concerns and continues to escalate the spiral of escalation.' This was reported by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru citing her comment.

Context: exercises and previous warnings

The statement came against the backdrop of preparations for the first military exercises of the 'coalition of the willing,' which are scheduled to begin on November 9. Members of the grouping are discussing the possibility of deploying foreign units in Ukraine as part of future security guarantees. Earlier, Zakharova emphasized that the deployment of any foreign armed contingents on Ukrainian territory is categorically unacceptable to Moscow, regardless of which grouping they operate under, and warned that Russia would regard the appearance of such forces as a military intervention, meaning further involvement of European NATO countries in the conflict.

Background: talks with US participation

The Russian Foreign Ministry's comment came amid a statement by US President Donald Trump about progress in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine and his announcement of a major agreement that could affect all of Europe. According to Gazeta.Ru, European politicians fear that Washington and Moscow may agree on a new security system without EU participation; Volodymyr Zelensky also warned of the 'danger' of such decisions. Earlier, the EU's chief diplomat Kaja Kallas spoke against revising Europe's security architecture. Thus, Moscow's position on 'multinational forces' was voiced simultaneously with discussions of new security formulas, but no specific decisions on the deployment of contingents are reported in the publications — the matter concerns plans and discussions.