Putin warns that western forces in Ukraine would be fair game

Russian leader says there would be no need for troops there once end to war agreed

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Moscow would 'comply in full' with any peace deal. AP

Any western forces deployed to Ukraine would be a “legitimate” target for Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday, a day after Kyiv's allies said they had committed to a troop presence in the event of a peace deal.

Mr Putin's comments came hours after European leaders repeated their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force.

“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

A woman sits by a makeshift memorial for Ukrainian and foreign fighters at Independence Square in Kyiv. AFP

Mr Putin said the deployment of such a force was not conducive to long-term peace and said Ukraine's closer military ties with the West were one of what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict.

He also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after a final peace deal, saying that if an agreement could be struck, there was no need for the troops.

“If decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply don't see the point in their presence on the territory of Ukraine. Because if deals are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will comply with them in full,” said the Russian leader.

He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia and Ukraine.

Kyiv says security guarantees, backed by western troops, are crucial to any agreement, in order to ensure Russia does not relaunch its offensive in the future.

The Russian leader’s comments follow remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” force on land, at sea and in the air to patrol once fighting ends.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday. AP

Mr Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the “coalition of the willing” − a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine.

He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops to Ukraine – or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in the air – to help guarantee the country’s security the day after any ceasefire or peace is achieved.

Ukraine's allies have not revealed any specific details of the plan, including how many troops it would involve and how specific countries would contribute.

However, the troops would not be deployed “on the front line” but aim to “prevent any new major aggression”, the French President said.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and injured in three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has forced millions from their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine in Europe's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, almost eight years after Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Moscow has repeatedly described the presence of Nato troops in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force “unacceptable.”

US President Donald Trump has forced the two sides to open talks on how to end the conflict, though multiple rounds of diplomacy have failed to yield anything more than prisoner exchanges.

Moscow has stuck to its hardline demands, calling for Ukraine to cede even more territory and completely renounce western backing. Kyiv has ruled those out as “old ultimatums.”

Ukraine and the West point to a long list of times Russia has broken agreements on Ukraine, dating back to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, a post-Soviet agreement that saw Kyiv give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances that Russia and other signatories, including the US and UK, would respect its independence and territorial integrity and refrain from the use of force.

Mr Putin earlier this week said his troops were advancing across the entire front line in eastern and southern Ukraine and that he would continue to fight if a peace deal was not reached.