٠٠:٠٨:٠٥Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks about Western troops in Ukraine showed that Kiev's allies were planning to 'divide' the country, while speaking to journalists in Moscow on Wednesday.
"On March 7 during a meeting with the country's parliamentarians, he did not rule out the option of sending a French contingent if the Russian army, as was said at the meeting, breaks through to Kiev or Odessa. <...> Ukraine's own allies have started to divide it," she stated.
Zakharova added that NATO's 'reluctance' to fast-track Ukraine's membership was 'also connected to this issue'.
"Ukraine's membership in the alliance implies recognition of its borders by all members of the organisation, but not all of them are ready to recognise Ukraine's borders. They are ready to occupy Ukraine and divide it. Politicians in their countries are openly talking about it," she alleged.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also reported that Moscow was seeing attempts by the Western governments to impede voting in the Russian presidential election at polling stations abroad.
"We are registering more and more attempts to interfere with the normal organisation and course of elections abroad and from abroad. I draw attention that we are talking about unfriendly countries; we are seeing direct activities aimed to make it as difficult as possible for our citizens to exercise their civil right and to take part in the elections," she said.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days from March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.
Last month, Macron claimed troops on the ground in Ukraine could 'not be ruled out', although allies such as the US, UK, and Germany rejected the possibility, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stating that there were 'no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine'.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also suggested British and French troops were already there, helping with missile target control. A leaked German military audio recording added to the claims that Britain had personnel on the ground, which the country has always strongly denied.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stressed that a direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable if Western troops were deployed. On Wednesday President Vladimir Putin said that the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would not 'change the situation on the battlefield'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Kiev's allies 'have started to divide' Ukraine - Zakharova responds to Macron's remarks about Western troops
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks about Western troops in Ukraine showed that Kiev's allies were planning to 'divide' the country, while speaking to journalists in Moscow on Wednesday.
"On March 7 during a meeting with the country's parliamentarians, he did not rule out the option of sending a French contingent if the Russian army, as was said at the meeting, breaks through to Kiev or Odessa. <...> Ukraine's own allies have started to divide it," she stated.
Zakharova added that NATO's 'reluctance' to fast-track Ukraine's membership was 'also connected to this issue'.
"Ukraine's membership in the alliance implies recognition of its borders by all members of the organisation, but not all of them are ready to recognise Ukraine's borders. They are ready to occupy Ukraine and divide it. Politicians in their countries are openly talking about it," she alleged.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also reported that Moscow was seeing attempts by the Western governments to impede voting in the Russian presidential election at polling stations abroad.
"We are registering more and more attempts to interfere with the normal organisation and course of elections abroad and from abroad. I draw attention that we are talking about unfriendly countries; we are seeing direct activities aimed to make it as difficult as possible for our citizens to exercise their civil right and to take part in the elections," she said.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days from March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.
Last month, Macron claimed troops on the ground in Ukraine could 'not be ruled out', although allies such as the US, UK, and Germany rejected the possibility, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stating that there were 'no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine'.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also suggested British and French troops were already there, helping with missile target control. A leaked German military audio recording added to the claims that Britain had personnel on the ground, which the country has always strongly denied.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stressed that a direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable if Western troops were deployed. On Wednesday President Vladimir Putin said that the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would not 'change the situation on the battlefield'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks about Western troops in Ukraine showed that Kiev's allies were planning to 'divide' the country, while speaking to journalists in Moscow on Wednesday.
"On March 7 during a meeting with the country's parliamentarians, he did not rule out the option of sending a French contingent if the Russian army, as was said at the meeting, breaks through to Kiev or Odessa. <...> Ukraine's own allies have started to divide it," she stated.
Zakharova added that NATO's 'reluctance' to fast-track Ukraine's membership was 'also connected to this issue'.
"Ukraine's membership in the alliance implies recognition of its borders by all members of the organisation, but not all of them are ready to recognise Ukraine's borders. They are ready to occupy Ukraine and divide it. Politicians in their countries are openly talking about it," she alleged.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also reported that Moscow was seeing attempts by the Western governments to impede voting in the Russian presidential election at polling stations abroad.
"We are registering more and more attempts to interfere with the normal organisation and course of elections abroad and from abroad. I draw attention that we are talking about unfriendly countries; we are seeing direct activities aimed to make it as difficult as possible for our citizens to exercise their civil right and to take part in the elections," she said.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days from March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.
Last month, Macron claimed troops on the ground in Ukraine could 'not be ruled out', although allies such as the US, UK, and Germany rejected the possibility, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stating that there were 'no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine'.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also suggested British and French troops were already there, helping with missile target control. A leaked German military audio recording added to the claims that Britain had personnel on the ground, which the country has always strongly denied.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stressed that a direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable if Western troops were deployed. On Wednesday President Vladimir Putin said that the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would not 'change the situation on the battlefield'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.