Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning to the West, declaring that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets” for Russian military strikes. This direct threat significantly raises the stakes in the ongoing conflict and serves as a firm rebuttal to recent European discussions about postwar security for Kyiv.
The warning came in response to a proposal championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently announced that 26 nations had agreed in principle to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the war. These guarantees, according to Macron, would involve a land, sea, and air presence, aimed at deterring future aggression. However, Putin’s remarks frame any such deployment not as a peacekeeping effort, but as a direct hostile act.
While the French initiative is gaining some traction, it has also exposed deep divisions within the Western alliance. Major European powers like Germany, Spain, and Italy have expressed their refusal to commit troops, fearing a direct confrontation with Moscow. The initial concept of a robust peacekeeping mission has already been diluted to a more cautious “reassurance force” that would be stationed far from any active frontlines.
Meanwhile, the path to a diplomatic solution remains blocked. Putin has dismissed the possibility of a meaningful agreement with Ukraine as “practically impossible,” even as he extends a conditional invitation for President Zelenskyy to meet in Moscow. Zelenskyy, in turn, has reiterated his willingness to meet but expressed profound doubt about Putin’s readiness to end the war, leaving the conflict in a dangerous and uncertain stalemate.