Western army trainers in Ukraine not immune from strikes, Kremlin says

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 defence 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 spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to rule out deploying troops to Ukraine, despite reluctance from other NATO 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 defence minister said Monday it was still in talks with Paris and other allies on the issue of instructors.