Russia looking into reports about sending of French troops to Ukraine, says Kremlin

The Russian Defense Ministry is currently looking into reports about #France sending its troops to #Ukraine, #Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov told reporters. "We need to understand here whether this information is correct. Our military is looking into this information," Peskov said, commenting on reports that France had allegedly deployed its combat forces to Ukraine.

Earlier, media reports said that France had sent 1,500 troops in support of Ukrainian forces in Slavyansk, citing a statement by Stephen Bryen, a former US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTyuwjkiL1c

Russia calls invasion of Ukraine a ‘war’ for the first time

Shift from ‘special military operation’ blamed by Kremlin on west’s support for Kyiv. The #Kremlin has admitted for the first time that Russia is in a “state of #war” amid a push to increase domestic support for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine after previously calling it a “special military operation”.

Russia has used the Kremlin-mandated euphemism since the full-scale invasion more than two years ago, in an apparent attempt to convey the impression to the Russian public that the fighting was minor and distant, with little effect on daily life.

“Yes, it started as a special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, published on Friday.

“But as soon as this gang developed and the collective west started participating in the conflict on the side of Ukraine, for us it became a war,” Peskov said.

Speaking to reporters after the interview was published, Peskov clarified that Moscow’s legal definition of the conflict had not changed, “but de facto, in reality, for us it has transformed into a war”, Peskov said.

Kremlin says France’s line of forming coalition to send troops to Ukraine very dangerous

#Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called #France’s line of forming a coalition of countries ready to send troops to #Ukraine very dangerous.

"In general, the expansion of the discussion and the persistent activity of Paris in attempts to build a coalition of countries that declare a hypothetical readiness to send a certain contingent, of course, is nothing but a direct line to escalate tensions. This is a dangerous line, very dangerous," the spokesman told reporters. Peskov pointed out that this line "could potentially have very undesirable consequences." "We are watching this very carefully," he emphasized.

Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister #Radoslaw Sikorski said during a conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Poland's #NATO membership that NATO military personnel are already in Ukraine. At the same time, Sikorski did not clarify which countries' soldiers he was referring to.

West plays with fire, #Kremlin spokesman says about idea of sending #NATO troops to #Ukraine

The Western countries are playing with fire when discussing the possibility of sending their troops to Ukraine, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov has told the media. He described as dangerous the very fact such an idea was mentioned by French President Emmanuel #Macron.

Peskov said that Moscow is hearing "many contradictory statements" from the West about sending NATO troops to Ukraine, but "the very fact of this discussion is dangerous."

He pointed out that Macron's statements to the effect that a discussion should begin on this score came amid speculations that the West wants to see Russia suffer a strategic defeat. "They are all playing with fire," Peskov warned. He added that together with German officers’ discussion of strikes on Russia all this leads "to a further degradation of the situation." "Of course, this is extremely irresponsible behavior," Peskov stated.

He pointed out that Moscow was keen to achieve its goals and that "Russia is open to political and diplomatic ways of achieving them."

X suspends Yulia #Navalnaya’s account

The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has suspended the account of Alexey Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya.

"Account suspended. X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules," a notice on her account says. The notice didn’t provide a specific rule that was violated.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be involved in the death of Alexey Navalny were absolutely unfounded. The spokesman was commenting on a statement by Navalnaya.

Russian liberal dissident, Alexey Navalny has died in prison in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous okrug according to the Russian federal prison service.

His sudden death is investigated by Russian authorities. The FSIN is engaged in all checks regarding the death of Alexei Navalny, says Peskov

Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov explained that all checks regarding the death of Alexei Navalny are carried out by the Federal Penitentiary Service. Only doctors will be able to judge the reasons after all the examinations have been established.

Macron, Zelensky to sign security deal in Paris on February 16 — AFP

The Presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky, will sign a bilateral agreement on security guarantees at the Elysee Palace on Friday, the AFP news agency reports citing the French president’s administration.

"This agreement follows from the commitments made by the Group of Seven on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023," the agency quoted a statement from the Elysee Palace.

The Telegram channel of the office of the President of Ukraine reports that Zelensky will visit Germany and France on February 16 to hold talks with Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and on February 17 he will take part in the Munich Security Conference in person. Zelensky is scheduled to hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as the leaders of Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and other countries on the sidelines of the conference. Earlier, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Zelensky plans to travel to several Western European countries in a bid to get more aid for Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023, the Group of Seven adopted a declaration on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. Then some other countries joined this declaration. The document, in particular, states that Kiev should receive significant military help. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called this decision a mistake and Zelensky's trip potentially very dangerous.

'No comment': Peskov on Bild report about Germany’s ‘NATO scenario for war with Russia’

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered no comment on a report in Berlin newspaper Bild that Germany is purportedly developing a scenario for a potential war between NATO and Russia, which is forecast to break out by the summer of 2025.

"I would not comment on this Bild report," Peskov said, emphasizing that: "Recently, this newspaper has regularly stooped to publishing various fake news items and canards."

Earlier, Bild published an article claiming that the German Defense Ministry considers a "hybrid Russian attack" on NATO's eastern flank as one of the hypothetical scenarios for future developments. The publication cited a purportedly secret document marked "for official use only."

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the latest Bild report, dismissed it as "last year's horoscope."