Putin threatens to target any Western troops sent to Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that any Western forces deployed to Ukraine would be "legitimate" targets for Russia's army, as Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky said "thousands" could be sent as part of a peacekeeping force.

Two dozen countries, led by France and Britain, pledged Thursday to join a "reassurance" force on land, at sea and in the air to patrol any agreement to end the war, unleashed by Russia's February 2022 invasion.

Tens of thousands have been killed 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 World War II.

Kyiv says security guarantees, backed by Western troops, are crucial to any pace deal, in order to ensure Russia does not re-invade in the future.

"If some troops appear there, especially now during the fighting, we proceed from the premise that they will be legitimate targets," Putin said at an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

He added that 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.

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.

Zelensky said Friday there was an agreement for "thousands" of troops, but did not give a specific figure.

"It will definitely not be single digits, but in the thousands. And that is a fact, but it is still a little too early to talk about it," he said during a press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa in western Ukraine.

'None of his business'

In Kyiv, foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy slammed Putin's rejection of the deployment.

"He's not the one to decide. Putin has made a mistake by deciding that he can place his troops across the border in Ukraine, and now it is none of his business whom Ukraine invites to its territory to protect its security," he said at a briefing in response to a question by AFP.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday 26 countries had "formally committed -- some others have not yet taken a position -- to deploy as a 'reassurance force' troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air."

The ground troops would not be deployed "on the front line", Macron said, but be there in a bid to "prevent any new major aggression".

Despite the West and Ukraine advancing preparations for a possible peacekeeping force, there are few signs Kyiv and Moscow are close to striking a deal.

Multiple rounds of diplomacy have failed to yield anything more than prisoner exchanges.

Moscow is calling for Ukraine to cede even more territory and wants international recognition of regions captured and occupied by its forces as part of Russia.

Kyiv has ruled the demands out as "old ultimatums".

Putin said Friday that if a deal could be struck, there was no need for the troops.

Ukraine and many leaders in Europe have accused Putin of paying only lip-service to the idea of halting his offensive, trying to play for time and keep US President Donald Trump engaged while his troops capture more territory.

The Kremlin leader earlier this week said his troops were advancing across the entire front line and that he would continue to fight if a peace deal was not reached.