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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would amount to war with Russia, while insisting Moscow does not pose a threat to European countries.
“They are currently talking about how to send troops into Ukraine. That means war with Russia,” Putin told journalists, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
European leaders have discussed the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine for several years, though no such deployment has taken place.
Russia has repeatedly described the presence of Western troops in Ukraine as a red line.
Putin accused Western countries of attempting to “finish off” Russia by using Ukraine.
“Regarding security, the issue is clear: it is an attempt to ‘finish off’ the Russian Federation,” he said, claiming Russia had first been targeted through “terrorists and separatists in the Caucasus,” then through other means and now through what he called the “neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine.”
Putin said the effort “does not stop.”
Russia launched its large-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022 and has justified the war by citing what it describes as a threat from NATO’s expansion toward its borders. Ukraine has sought membership in the Western military alliance.
Putin said Moscow neither threatens nor intends to threaten European countries.
“We are not threatening, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries. Why would we? No one even considers the fact that we have no grounds for any conflict with Europe,” he said.
He accused “European elites” of frightening their populations with what he called an “imaginary threat from Russia.”
“This threat does not exist and has never existed,” Putin added.
Putin also said mistakes in Europe’s energy policy would lead to higher gas prices for consumers, while maintaining that Russia sells its energy resources at market-based prices.
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