Kremlin warns of Russia-NATO conflict over troop deployment to Ukraine

The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that conflict between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance would become inevitable if European members of NATO sent troops to fight in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door on Monday to European nations sending troops to Ukraine, although he cautioned that there was no consensus on such a step at this stage as allies agreed to ramp up efforts to deliver more munitions to Kyiv.

"The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents from NATO countries to Ukraine is a very important new element," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Macron's remarks.

Asked by reporters what the risks of a direct Russia-NATO conflict would be if NATO members sent their troops to fight in Ukraine, Peskov said:

"In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability but the inevitability (of a direct conflict)."

Reuters