Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday that any European peacekeepers in Ukraine will return in coffins.
Medvedev spoke on the heels of a visit by U.S. officials to Paris where European leaders are holding talks on the Ukraine war. Russia has condemned as NATO allies consider sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Washington and Moscow.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin and NATO for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, and his viewpoints often align with those of the Russian leader. The killing of potential European peacekeepers in Ukraine would mark a major escalation in the conflict.
What To Know
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Medvedev said Western officials were meeting in Paris on Thursday to discuss “how many European coffins they will be ready to accept” if peacekeeping troops are deployed in Ukraine.
EU, NATO, and non-NATO allies have said they are considering sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv. A “coalition of the willing” led by the U.K. and France—which so far consists of about 15 countries—has proposed deploying troops to contribute to a “reassurance force.”
While the force would not enter Ukraine until after an agreement is reached, Russia has made it clear that it will not tolerate any Western military presence on Ukrainian soil. Western leaders, however, argue that such a deployment would bolster European security and help deter future Russian aggression.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in March that Kyiv does not require Moscow’s approval to request peacekeeping troops on Ukrainian soil.
“Ukraine is sovereign—if it requests allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject it,” Macron told French newspaper Le Parisien on March 15.
A senior British government source also told The Times newspaper of London in March that the West intends to deploy more than 10,000 troops in Ukraine to monitor a possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. U.K. Defense Minister John Healey clarified on April 10 that the troops would not function as traditional peacekeepers but would provide direct assistance to Ukraine’s military.
What People Are Saying
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said on X: “Apparently, the top of Ukraine’s fascist clique have come to Paris for talks with the U.K., Germany and France on how many European coffins they will be ready to accept after the deployment of the troops of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in Ukraine.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russian newspaper Izvestia in March that deploying such troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely inappropriate and absurd.”
“We absolutely do not care under what label NATO contingents can be deployed on the territory of Ukraine: be it the European Union, NATO, or in their national capacity. In any case, if they appear there, it means that they are deployed in a conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
What Happens Next
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump‘s special envoy Steve Witkoff are speaking with European politicians and security advisers in Paris on Thursday as part of steps toward potentially brokering peace in the Ukraine war.
Russia’s former president and now serving as deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev (L), visits the Totsky military training field outside Siberian city of Orenburg on July 14, 2023. (
Russia’s former president and now serving as deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev (L), visits the Totsky military training field outside Siberian city of Orenburg on July 14, 2023. (
YEKATERINA SHTUKINA/SPUTNIK/AFP/Getty Images