Western army instructors who train Ukrainian soldiers in the country would have no “immunity” from Russian strikes, Moscow has said, amid reports that France could despatch military trainers to Ukraine.
Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky said last week that French military instructors would soon arrive in the country, but Kyiv’s defence ministry later downplayed the claim.
“Any instructors who are engaged in training the Ukrainian regime do not have any immunity. It does not matter whether they are French or not,” Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to rule out deploying troops to Ukraine, despite reluctance from other NATO members and warnings from Moscow.
France does not officially have military personnel assisting or training Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.
Russia has warned against such a step, and previously said it would destroy any western military hardware sent to the country.
Ukraine’s defence minister said it is still in talks with France and other allies on the issue of instructors.
Eight hurt in Russian missile strikes
Ukrainian officials said that eight people had been wounded in overnight Russian air attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions of the country.
Russian forces also launched four drones in overnight. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two of them over the northern region of Chernihiv.
The head of the southern Kherson region, which Russia claims is part of its country, separately said that Russian artillery fire had killed an elderly woman in the village of Veletynske.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly emphasised the urgent need for air defence systems as Russia has pummelled the country with air strikes targeting critical infrastructure this spring.
Kyiv has confirmed that Italy will supply it with another air defence system.
Russia ‘doesn’t interfere’ in France after Eiffel Tower coffin stunt
The Russian Embassy in France said it does not interfere in the country and condemned “Russophobic” suggestions that Moscow was involved in coffins laid at the Eiffel Tower in Paris marked “French soldiers serving in Ukraine”.
In a statement, the embassy said it “expresses a decisive protest against the latest Russophobic campaign unleashed by French media”.
“Russia has not interfered and does not interfere in France’s internal affairs,” it added.
Moscow, meanwhile, dismissed a report from Microsoft that Russia was ramping up a disinformation campaign ahead of the Olympics Games, calling it “absolute slander” and “nothing to do with reality”.
