President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukraine had “no need” for foreign allied forces to face down a feared Russian invasion, warning that their presence might only exacerbate tensions.
“We have no need for soldiers with foreign flags on our territory. We are not asking for that. Otherwise, the entire world would be destabilised,” the Ukrainian president told the RBK Ukraine website.
“We do not want to give any additional reason for Russia to say we have (foreign) bases here that they need to 'defend' themselves against,” he said.
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“But we want everything else,” Zelensky added in reference to funding and arms delivered from Ukraine's Western allies.
US President Joe Biden has firmly excluded sending soldiers to Ukraine and has urged American citizens to leave immediately.
Some NATO powers, including Britain, have withdrawn or started withdrawing military personnel they had stationed in Ukraine to train the country's armed forces.
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