Putin Warns Against Foreign Troops In Ukraine As Europe Tries To Finalize ‘Reassurance Force’

( RFE/RL ) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against the deployment of any foreign troops into Ukraine, declaring they would be “legitimate targets,” in a blunt warning to Kyiv’s Western allies as they look to agree on a “reassurance force.”

Putin’s comments during an economic forum in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on September 5 came hours after leaders from a group of around 30 European countries — along with Canada, Japan, and Australia — met amid a continued struggle with the idea of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said.

The leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Par