Moscow warns UK and France risking ‘direct confrontation’ between Russia and NATO

France and the UK are “hatching plans for military intervention in Ukraine” under the guise of a peacekeeping mission, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman has warned.

Maria Zakharova added such an intervention could lead to a direct conflict between her country and NATO.

France and the UK are among the leaders of the so-called “coalition of the willing” meeting in Paris today to discuss European plans for a potential ceasefire.

That could involve European troops in Ukraine – something Moscow has described as unacceptable.

“Our country stands categorically against this scenario, which risks a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO,” Zakharova said in a briefing.

In comments carried by state news agency TASS, she added the UK wanted to provoke the EU into a “bloodbath” with Russia.

Their “golden dream”, she said, is to push European countries together and join the “Anglo-Saxon coalition”.

Zakharova spoke just as Germany’s foreign minister talked up the need for a European defence union.

Speaking at the Europe 2025 conference on European sovereignty, Annalena Baerbock said: “If we continue to use 150 different weapon systems in Europe and they are not compatible with each other, then we can spend all of the world’s money on them – we will not be able to be effective enough, which is why I believe that the European defence union is no longer a question of whether, but how quickly we get it off the ground.”

Photo: Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman. EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV