Vladimir Putin has revealed the circumstance in which he believes troops from western nations would become 'legitimate' targets for attack.
It's been more than three-and-a-half years since Russia invaded Ukraine and, despite Donald Trump's bold pre-election claims, a ceasefire remains out of sight.
Despite a 'high stakes' meetings in Alaska and the leaders of Europe descending on the White House for a peace summit, President Putin has refused to budge on his 'key demands' for ceasing his attacks on Ukraine. These include handing over bits of territory and renouncing any ambition to join NATO.
In the event that a ceasefire or peace deal is reached, several European heads of state have promised to support Ukrainian sovereignty deploying peacekeeping troops 'by land, sea or air'.
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Unsurprisingly, Putin is not a fan of this idea and issued a pretty grave warning about what he'd do should this scenario occur.
Speaking at an economic forum in the eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin told reporters that western troops in Ukraine would be considered 'legitimate targets' by the Russian military.
"Regarding possible military contingents in Ukraine, this is one of the root causes [of] trying to involve Ukraine in NATO," Putin said (via CNN).
"So, if troops appear there, especially now, during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for defeat."
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It would appear Putin's comments followed on from a statement made by French leader Emmanuel Macron, who previously revealed that 26 of Ukraine's allies had agreed to send troops to the Eastern European country as a possible post-war peacekeeping force.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later doubled down on the arguments when questioned by the BBC, saying that peacekeeping troops would be 'considered a danger to Russia'.
"We're turning back to the main reason of the conflict," he said. "We are an enemy of NATO, we cannot afford that."
Meanwhile ex-leader Dmitry Medvedev has also issued a fresh set of threats aimed at the UK, suggesting Russia could seize 'valuables of the British crown' in response for Britain using money from seized Russian assets to pay for Ukrainian aid.
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Western leaders are yet to respond to the Russia's latest threats, but Trump, Zelenskyy, and several European leaders are expected to meet in Paris to discuss future security guarantees for Ukraine on Thursday.
The US president broke his silence on Putin's visit to China alongside leader Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and India's Narendra Modi, writing the following statement on Truth Social: "Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!"
Topics: Russia, Vladimir Putin, World News
Brenna Cooper