MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The foreign instructors of the Ukrainian armed forces, regardless of their country of origin, are not immune to Russian strikes against them, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Commenting on the Washington Post article about France's plans to send military instructors to Ukraine, he said: "The thing is that all instructors who train Ukrainian troops have no immunity [from Russian attacks against them], whether they are French or not."
Earlier, Washington Post columnist Lee Hockstader opined that Russia could start attacking French military instructors in Ukraine. Reports about Paris's plans to send them to Ukraine have become more frequent in recent weeks, and a few days ago Ukrainian commander-in-chief Alexander Syrsky said he had signed documents for the legal entry of the foreign specialists into the country.
"We are continuing the special military operation in accordance with the tasks and goals formulated by the supreme commander-in-chief," Peskov pointed out.
Reuters reported earlier, citing diplomatic sources, that France may send its military instructors to Ukraine as early as this week, despite the risk of a direct clash with Russia. According to the news agency, Paris may send a limited number of instructors in the initial stage, and then plans to increase it to several hundred. Reuters also said that this mission will not operate under the auspices of the EU or NATO.