Russia Starts Talking About Introduction Of CSTO Troops Into Ukraine

Member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan) can send their peacekeepers to the territories of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Federation, said Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma's defense committee. This was reported by the Russian edition of Interfax on Monday, June 6.

"It cannot be ruled out that peacekeepers from the CSTO countries will be in demand in the liberated territories of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics," the publication quoted Kartapolov as saying.

He pointed out that Russia would not agree to the introduction of peacekeepers from other countries so that NATO countries would not "get inside" under their guise. Kartapolov said that CSTO troops may be needed after the end of hostilities and the fulfillment of all the tasks of the so-called "special military operation."

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin at the CSTO summit announced major military exercises in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan this fall.

In early March, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksii Danilov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to drag the CSTO countries into the Russian war against Ukraine.

On April 27, the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the CSTO countries refused to participate in the war against Ukraine.