Russian Foreign Minister warns peacekeeping effort could result in 'direct clash' with NATO allies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned this week that if NATO sends peacekeepers into Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, that action will lead to a direct military confrontation between Russian and allied forces.

According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Lavrov said Wednesday morning, "Sending NATO peacekeepers to Ukraine would lead to a direct clash between the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the alliance."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations eliminated the possibility of the U.S. becoming part of a peacekeeping operation inside Ukraine, reiterating that the Biden administration will not send American troops into the country under conflict.

"We don't want to escalate this into a war with the United States," said Thomas-Greenfield. "But we will support our NATO allies," adding that President Biden "has made clear that if there is an attack on any of our NATO allies, under Article 5, that we will support those countries and defend those countries."

The war has been going on for about a month as Russia's far larger army continues to fight for control of Ukraine's major cities. In the past days, the battle for Ukraine's strategic port city of Mariupol has grown increasingly fiery. Thus far, the resistance effort from Ukraine has been unexpectedly fierce, though western experts warn that the Ukrainian's longtime outlook against Russian forces may spell trouble.