Putin warns that Western troops in Ukraine would become ‘legitimate target’ for Russian military

Just a day after 26 countries pledged to send troops to Ukraine to guarantee its post-war security, Vladimir Putin has warned that any Western force deployed on Ukrainian soil would become a “legitimate target” for the Russian military, state-affiliated news outlet RBC has reported.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Friday, Putin reiterated his opposition to any potential deployment of Western forces to Ukraine, arguing that such a move would endanger Russian security.

“If any foreign troops appear in Ukraine, especially now, during the course of hostilities, we proceed from the assumption that they will be legitimate targets for destruction,” Putin said, adding that should a long-term peace deal be signed, the presence of Western troops on Ukrainian territory would be “pointless” anyway, TASS reported.

“If such agreements are reached, nobody should doubt that Russia will implement them in full. And we will respect the security guarantees that, of course, must be worked out for both Russia and Ukraine,” Putin continued.

When asked about a potential face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin said he was prepared to hold such a meeting in Moscow and once again invited the Ukrainian leader to the Russian capital, though he noted that he saw “no point” in him doing so, as it would be “practically impossible to agree on key issues”.

Putin, who also invited Zelensky for peace talks in Moscow during a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, nevertheless pledged to “provide a 100% guarantee of security” for anybody who “really wants to meet with us”, adding that “the best place for that is the capital of the Russian Federation, Moscow,” state-affiliated business daily Kommersant reported.