Putin says foreign troops deployed to Ukraine before any peace deal
would be 'legitimate targets'
[September 05, 2025]
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign
troops deployed to Ukraine before a peace agreement has been signed
would be considered “legitimate targets” by Moscow's forces.
Putin's comments came hours after European leaders repledged their
commitment to a potential peacekeeping force.
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In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President
Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the plenary session of the
Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (
Stepan Pugachev/Roscongress Foundation via AP) |
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“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is
ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he
said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the far
eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
Putin also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
after a final peace deal, saying “no one should doubt” that
Moscow would comply with a treaty to halt its 3½-year full-scale
invasion of its neighbor.
He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia
and Ukraine.
The Russian leader’s comments follow remarks from French
President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s
allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force”
for Ukraine once fighting ends.
Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition
of the willing, a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine. He
said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops
to Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in
the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after
any ceasefire or peace is achieved.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24,
2022, almost eight years after Moscow illegally annexed
Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Moscow has repeatedly described the
presence of NATO troops in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping
force “unacceptable.”
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