Foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be legitimate targets, Putin says

Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Aug. 15. Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, particularly while its invasion was still ongoing, 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, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as “unacceptable.”

“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.