Russia threatens strike on Western army trainers

MOSCOW (AFP) — Western army instructors who train Ukrainian soldiers in the country would have no “immunity” from Russian strikes, the Kremlin said Tuesday, 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 defense ministry later walked back 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,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to rule out deploying troops to Ukraine, despite reluctance from other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and furious warnings from Moscow.

France does not officially have military personnel assisting or training Ukrainian forces in Ukraine at the moment.

Russia has warned against such a step, and previously vowed to destroy any Western military hardware sent to the country.

Ukraine’s defense minister said Monday it was still in talks with Paris and other allies on the issue of instructors.

Meanwhile, Kyiv said Tuesday that Italy would supply Ukraine with another air defense system, weapons that senior Ukrainian officials have been urging their allies to send to fend off Russian aerial assaults.

President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country urgently needs at least seven more systems, including two just to defend the eastern Kharkiv region, where Moscow recently launched a fresh ground offensive.

“Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that his country will provide Ukraine with a second SAMP/T air defense system,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office announced on social media.