Russia's Zakharova on alleged US instructors in Ukraine

Russia's foreign ministry asserted Friday that there are thousands of foreign military instructors in Ukraine, many of them from the United States.

The ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said there were "about 10,000 instructors" in Ukraine.

Some 4,000 were from the US, she added.

"It would be good if the situation there has been improving (because of them)," she said. "But everything is exactly the opposite."

Tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have continued to escalate amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion.

The Kremlin said Friday that it expects the United States to respond next month to Moscow's request for security guarantees that would rule out NATO's expansion to Ukraine.

Last week, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin in a video call earlier this month that Russia will face “severe consequences” if it attacks Ukraine.

Russia has denied plans to launch an attack but has said NATO's expansion into Ukraine would be viewed as a “red line.”

Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and shortly after cast its support behind a separatist rebellion in the east of the country.

The fighting, which started more than seven years ago, has killed over 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine's industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.

IMAGE: AP