Putin says Russia will strike any Western troops in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin said Russia would view any foreign troops in Ukraine as legitimate targets for its forces, setting a Kremlin red line a day after European and US officials met in Paris to discuss security guarantees that could include sending thousands of Western troops to Ukraine.

“This is one of the root causes (of the war): trying to involve Ukraine in NATO,” Putin said, speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Far East on Friday. “So if any troops appear there, especially during the ongoing hostilities, we assume they will be legitimate targets for defeat.”

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 26 countries are “backing security guarantees” for his country “in different formats.” “We have agreed there will be presence,” he said, adding that how this will look will depend on the country involved. “The presence is different. It is in the sky, in the sea and on the ground,” he said.

Putin, however, suggested that if a ceasefire was agreed between his country and Kyiv, then there would be no need for any third parties to get involved. “If decisions are reached that lead to long-term peace, then I simply see no reason for their presence on Ukrainian territory,” he said. “Because if such agreements are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will fully implement them.”

“What was one of the root causes of this conflict? It was when the foundations of security guarantees for our country began to be eroded, when Ukraine was being drawn into NATO, and when NATO’s military infrastructure began moving toward our borders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

Russian officials frequently refer to what they say are “root causes” of the conflict, which have previously included Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign state and NATO’s eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War.

Speaking from Beijing on Wednesday, Putin said US President Donald Trump had asked him to hold talks with Zelensky. “Donald asked me if it was possible to hold such a meeting. I said yes, it is possible. In the end, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow. Such a meeting will take place,” Putin said.

He reiterated this call on Friday, promising to provide “security” should Zelensky visit the Russian capital. “The Ukrainian side wants this meeting and is proposing it,” Putin said. “I said, ‘I am ready, please come. We will definitely provide conditions for work and security. A hundred percent guarantee.’”