Putin says western troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’ as he repeats offer to host talks in Moscow
Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared to be unfazed by the proposals, telling an economic forum in Vladivostok instead that any western troops in Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction.”
“If some troops appear there, especially now during the fighting, we proceed from the premise that they will be legitimate targets,” Putin said.
Moscow has long rejected any suggestion of foreign troops in Ukraine, stressing it would be unacceptable and pose a threat to its national security.
Putin further argued that “if decisions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine, full stop,” as he insisted Russia would “comply” with any agreement reached “in full.”
The Russian president also repeated his – already rejected – offer to host future peace talks in Moscow, claiming he would “definitely provide working conditions and security.”
(It’s not impossible to see why Zelenskyy wouldn’t necessarily trust any of that given the history between the two countries.)
Putin also appeared to reject a suggestion of holding that meeting elsewhere.
“But if they tell us: ’we want to meet with you, but you have to go somewhere else for this meeting’, it seems to me that these are simply excessive requests on us,” he said.
Key events
Trump is ‘disappointed some countries still buy Russian oil,’ Zelenskyy says, as he calls for ‘stronger Europe’
Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy just posted a few lines from his speech at an Italian economic conference, alongside a clip of his speech.
He said:
“President Trump expects a stronger Europe with closer US coordination. But he’s disappointed some countries still buy Russian oil, funding Putin’s war machine. Energy independence from Russia is vital for Europe’s security and is a key to strong relations with the US.”
He also insisted that Ukraine needed “more systems to shoot down missiles and drones, and modern fight jets,” as he warned that “Russia’s main tool of war is killing civilians.”
Limiting their ability to attack means moving closer to peace.
Zelenskyy also said that Trump confirmed that “America is ready to take part” in the new security guarantees for Ukraine.
Putin says western troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’ as he repeats offer to host talks in Moscow
Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared to be unfazed by the proposals, telling an economic forum in Vladivostok instead that any western troops in Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction.”
“If some troops appear there, especially now during the fighting, we proceed from the premise that they will be legitimate targets,” Putin said.
Moscow has long rejected any suggestion of foreign troops in Ukraine, stressing it would be unacceptable and pose a threat to its national security.
Putin further argued that “if decisions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine, full stop,” as he insisted Russia would “comply” with any agreement reached “in full.”
The Russian president also repeated his – already rejected – offer to host future peace talks in Moscow, claiming he would “definitely provide working conditions and security.”
(It’s not impossible to see why Zelenskyy wouldn’t necessarily trust any of that given the history between the two countries.)
Putin also appeared to reject a suggestion of holding that meeting elsewhere.
“But if they tell us: ’we want to meet with you, but you have to go somewhere else for this meeting’, it seems to me that these are simply excessive requests on us,” he said.
Work on security guarantees for Ukraine needs to accelerate, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the pace of work on security guarantees for Ukraine needed to be accelerated after what he called a “meaningful” conversation with Nato chief Mark Rutte.
“It is important to be as productive as possible together with America. It is important to strengthen our air defence,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
His comments come a day after a summit of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris where 26 nations have pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air, as declared by France’s Macron.
Macron initially said the 26 nations – which he did not name – would deploy to Ukraine. But he later said some countries would provide guarantees while remaining outside Ukraine, for example by helping to train and equip Kyiv’s forces. He did not say how many troops would be involved in the guarantees.
Morning opening: Energy diplomacy
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump’s reported suggestion that Europe should stop purchasing Russian oil altogether as quickly as possible opens up a new dynamic in the continent’s efforts to end the war.
According to Finland’s influential president Alexander Stubb and White House officials, Trump told the Coalition of the Willing that European countries should not be spending any money on fuel sales from Russia to help refund Moscow’s war machine amid ongoing aggression on Ukraine.
The EU has already made plans to phase out Russian energy by the end of 2027, but Trump seems to be suggesting that they should be accelerated.
The EU’s energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said this morning that “even when there is peace, it is my opinion that we should still not import” from Russia, and confirmed he would meet with US energy security Chris Wright to discuss it further next week.
Expect the issue to feature prominently on the agenda today, as fresh on the back of that declaration Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with the European Council’s António Costa and Slovak prime minister Robert Fico.
Slovakia, together with Hungary, is still heavily reliant on Russian gas imports and repeatedly criticised Ukraine for attacks on the Russian energy infrastructure.
Fico has also faced criticism this week for breaking ranks with the EU and taking part in a military parade in China, meeting Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin for bilateral talks.
During his chat with the Russian president in particular, he at times openly criticised the EU, and talked about the need to “standardise” the relationship with Russia, a view very much not shared by the rest of the bloc. Expect this meeting to get lively.
Let’s see what the day brings us. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Friday, 5 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
