{"id":683099,"date":"2026-01-08T21:48:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T21:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/683099\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T21:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T21:48:43","slug":"maria-zakharova-warns-foreign-forces-in-ukraine-would-be-legitimate-combat-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/683099\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria Zakharova warns foreign forces in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate combat targets’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Putin begins annual televised news conference<\/a> <\/p>\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual news conference on Friday, which featured questions from journalists and members of the public across the country. (Credit: Reuters)<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Russia on Thursday<\/a> warned that any Western military forces deployed to Ukraine under a post-war security arrangement would be considered “legitimate combat targets,” sharply criticizing a newly signed Paris declaration outlining security guarantees for Kyiv.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry\u2019s Telegram channel, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the declaration<\/a>, backed by Ukraine, the United States and several European countries, was not aimed at peace but at further militarizing Ukraine and escalating the conflict.<\/p>\n

She specifically objected to provisions calling for a multinational force and continued military support for Ukraine’s armed forces<\/a>, warning that any foreign troops, military infrastructure or facilities on Ukrainian territory would be viewed by Moscow as direct foreign intervention.<\/p>\n

UKRAINE, US NEAR 20-POINT PEACE DEAL AS PUTIN SPURNS ZELENSKYY CHRISTMAS CEASEFIRE OFFER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova attends the annual press conference held by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Jan. 14, 2025, in Moscow. (Evgenia Novozhenina\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

“All such units and facilities will be considered as legitimate combat targets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” Zakharova said.<\/p>\n

“These warnings have been voiced more than once at the highest level and remain relevant.”<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday the U.K.<\/a> and France signed a declaration of intent to deploy forces to Ukraine<\/a> in the event of a peace deal, including establishing military hubs and facilities to store weapons and equipment after a ceasefire.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A soldier fires a third-generation Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile system during a training session on Jan. 7, 2026, in Ukraine. (Ukrinform\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil \u2013 securing Ukraine\u2019s skies and seas \u2013 and regenerating Ukraine\u2019s armed forces for the future,” Starmer told reporters<\/a> at a press conference after the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris.<\/p>\n

RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“We also have agreed [on] significant further steps. First, that we will participate in U.S.-led monitoring and verification of any ceasefire. Second, we will support the long-term provision of armaments<\/a> for Ukraine\u2019s defense. And third, we will work toward binding commitments to support Ukraine in the case of a future armed attack by Russia,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"World <\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, France\u2019s President Emmanuel Macron, Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. businessman Jared Kushner speak at a press conference after signing a declaration at the Coalition of the Willing summit on Jan. 6, 2026, in Paris. (Ludovic Marin\/Pool via Reuters)<\/p>\n

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on X that negotiators made significant progress on a bilateral security guarantee framework<\/a> and a prosperity plan for Ukraine, calling durable security guarantees essential to a lasting peace.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> on Thursday said the document on security guarantees for Ukraine is essentially “ready for finalization at the highest level with the President of the United States.”<\/p>\n

“Complex issues from the basic framework for ending the war were also addressed, and the Ukrainian side presented possible options for finalizing this document,” he added. “We understand that the American side will engage with Russia, and we expect feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely willing to end the war.”<\/p>\n

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Putin begins annual televised news conference Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual news conference on Friday, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[17542,2000,299,85148,332,657],"class_list":{"0":"post-683099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-armed-forces","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-peacekeeping","12":"tag-russia","13":"tag-ukraine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115861684805375382","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}