Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction,” unless Russia first agrees to a cease-fire and peace deal. Ukraine’s Western allies are reportedly considering a plan under which the United States would supervise a postwar “buffer zone,” but all boots on the ground would be supplied by non-NATO countries.

“If any troops appear there, especially now, during the fighting, we assume that they will be legitimate targets for destruction,” Putin said during his keynote speech to the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.

“And if decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply see no point in their presence on Ukrainian territory,” Putin continued.

“If t

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