Russia Threatens ‘Highly Dangerous’ Conflict After Petition Pushing For NATO Troops Circulates On Ukrainian Government Site

Topline

Sending NATO troops into Ukraine would result in an escalated conflict that would be “highly dangerous,” the Kremlin warned Wednesday, after a petition posted to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s website called for the country to request troops from the alliance—though the petition is unofficial and NATO has expressed no plans to send in troops.

NATO officials have said there are “no plans” to deploy troops in Ukraine, while French President Emmanuel Macron claimed the alliance hadn’t ruled it out. AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said NATO’s direct interference in Russia’s war with Ukraine is “potentially highly dangerous, adding the petition is “an outrageous provocation” Russia will be “closely following,” the Russian state-run news agency Tass reported.

The petition, posted by a private Ukrainian citizen to Zelensky’s website Tuesday, asks Ukrainian officials to request troops from the European Union, the U.K., Northern Ireland and the U.S. to help “restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

As of Wednesday morning, the petition—which expires August 7—has received just over 1,900 of the 25,000 signatures required for Zelensky to consider the petition’s requests.

The Ukrainian government launched the petition website in 2015, though most petitions posted since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 ask for posthumous awards to individual Ukrainian soldiers.

Receiving 25,000 signatures does not guarantee Zelensky will respond, however, as nearly 2,000 petitions with the required number of signatures—including some posted in 2019—are still “under consideration,” and NATO would not necessarily send troops to the country if Zelensky requested them.

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Tangent

European and NATO leaders have typically ruled out sending their own militaries to Ukraine, but French President Emmanuel Macron told The Economist last week France would consider sending troops to Ukraine if Russia broke through Ukraine’s front lines or if Ukrainian officials requested them. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday if the “French appear in the conflict zone, they will inevitably become targets” for Russia’s military, the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported. In February, Macron said NATO hadn’t ruled out deploying troops to Ukraine to “ensure that Russia cannot win this war.” Macron claimed NATO had no consensus over the matter, though several key NATO members and officials—including Germany, the U.S. and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg—pushed back on his suggestion and said the alliance had “no plans” to deploy troops.

Key Background

NATO has avoided direct involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while its member countries have provided military support to Ukraine. Ukraine applied to join NATO seven months after Russia invaded the country, and NATO signaled in 2008 the country would eventually join the alliance—but membership isn’t expected any time soon since Ukraine’s bid would need to be approved unanimously by NATO’s current member states. Ukraine’s membership in NATO could broaden its conflict with Russia, as a provision in the alliance’s founding treaty says any attack against one or more member states “shall be considered an attack against all of them.” This provision requires NATO member states to defend Ukraine, expanding the conflict to 31 countries in Europe and North America.

Further Reading

Putin Says Russia Is Ready For Nuclear War If Its Existence Or Independence Is Threatened (Forbes)

U.S. Soldier Gordon Black Detained In Russia—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)