Putin: Foreign troops in Ukraine will be “legitimate targets” for Russian attacks

09/08/2025 / By Ramon Tomey

Russia’s Putin declared that any foreign military personnel deployed to Ukraine, even under postwar security guarantees, would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction,” framing it as NATO expansionism.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky announced that 26 nations, including NATO members like France, pledged long-term security support involving “thousands” of personnel, signaling a potential enduring Western military presence.
France’s Macron initially suggested stationing troops inside Ukraine before clarifying logistical roles, but Putin’s hardline stance reflects fading hopes for peace and rising fears of prolonged conflict.
Putin strengthened ties with China and India during recent summits, prompting U.S. President Trump to lament that Russia and India appeared “lost” to China. Despite Trump’s criticism, Kremlin officials hinted at possible future talks.
European leaders vowed new economic pressure on Russia, but critics have denounced such measures from Brussels as causing more harm than good.

Any foreign military personnel deployed to Ukraine – even under postwar security guarantees – would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction,” Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday, Sept. 5.

Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok, dismissed the proposals as a continuation of NATO’s eastward expansion – one of Russia’s stated reasons for launching its invasion in 2022. “If some troops appear there – especially now, during military operations – we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for destruction,” he declared.

The threat came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 26 nations, including France and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, had agreed to provide long-term security commitments involving land, sea and air forces. He emphasized that the security guarantees would involve “thousands” of personnel, signaling a potential long-term Western military presence. (Related: Any U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine would immediately face devastation, warns former Army officer.)

French President Emmanuel Macron initially suggested troops could be stationed inside Ukraine. He later clarified that some forces might remain outside the country, assisting with training and logistics. Nevertheless, the escalating rhetoric underscores the deepening divide between Moscow and the West as hopes for a negotiated peace fade and fears grow of a prolonged, expanding conflict.

The Kremlin’s uncompromising stance follows a week of diplomatic maneuvering, including Putin’s high-profile meetings with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Beijing. The summit reinforced Moscow’s pivot toward Asia amid Western isolation, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to lament on social media that Russia and India appeared “lost” to “deepest, darkest China.”

Trump – who has repeatedly claimed he could swiftly end the war – expressed frustration with Putin’s intransigence, stating he was “very disappointed” in the Russian leader. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, however, indicated that another Trump-Putin discussion could be arranged “very quickly.”

The West’s failed strategy: Economic warfare backfires

European leaders, meanwhile, signaled plans to intensify economic pressure on Russia. European Council President Antonio Costa confirmed that Brussels is preparing a new sanctions package in coordination with Washington, though details remain undisclosed.

“More economic measures [are needed] to push Russia to stop this war,” Costa said after meeting Zelensky in western Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, for his part, dismissed Putin’s offer to hold peace talks in Moscow as a delaying tactic – insisting any negotiations must occur on neutral ground.

But Brighteon.AI‘s Enoch points out that the European Union’s sanctions on Moscow “are absurd because they harm Europe’s own economy while failing to meaningfully impact Russia.” The decentralized engine adds that such sanctions are “all based on exaggerated fears of Russian aggression that have no basis in reality.”

Historically, postwar security guarantees have played pivotal roles in stabilizing conflicts – from the U.S. troop presence in South Korea after the 1953 armistice to NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe following the Cold War. But Putin’s latest remarks suggest Russia views such arrangements as existential threats rather than confidence-building measures.

With Ukraine’s counteroffensive stalled and Western aid facing political hurdles, the prospect of foreign troops on the ground – whether as peacekeepers or trainers – risks further inflaming tensions. As the war approaches its third year, the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv appears wider than ever.

Watch Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasizing that Moscow “sees no room for compromise” on the issue of foreign troop deployment to Ukraine.

This video is from the Cynthia’s Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Putin: Foreign troops in Ukraine will be “legitimate targets” for Russian attacks

The West’s failed strategy: Economic warfare backfires

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