Zakharova noted on her Telegram channel, “It is symbolic that these training exercises, dubbed Coalition 26.2, are beginning on the eve of the resumption of consultations in Abu Dhabi to resolve the Ukrainian conflict in a Russia-United States-Ukraine format.”

  The spokeswoman asserted, “It is abundantly clear that the West remains unwilling to take Russia’s legitimate security concerns into account and continues to fuel the spiral of escalation.”

  The diplomat said, “London and Paris intend, through deploying multinational forces in Ukraine, to maintain a platform for confronting Russia and inflicting a military defeat upon our country.”

  She added, “We reiterate that the deployment of foreign military contingents in Ukraine is categorically unacceptable, both within the framework of a so-called Coalition of the Willing and under the auspices of any other association.”

  Zakharova underscored, “In essence, this would represent another step toward the deepening involvement of European NATO member states in the conflict, further exacerbating the situation.”

jdt/iff/rgh/gfa