Putin Warns European Troop Deployment in Ukraine Would Mean War With Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that any European move to send troops into Ukrainian territory would amount to war with Russia, speaking to Russian media in New Delhi ahead of the BRICS summit.

"Now they're talking about how they're considering sending troops into Ukrainian territory. That means war with Russia," Putin said, adding that he believed citizens of European countries understood what was unfolding. He accused European governments of "pushing the people of their own countries toward war with Russia."

Putin also rejected the premise that Moscow threatens Europe. He said European countries were frightening their own populations with an "imaginary threat" from Russia, insisting no such threat exists and that Russia has no grounds for conflict with Europe. He argued that outstanding issues were settled after World War II and that subsequent developments, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, took place with the consent of the Russian Federation as the successor state. Any move contradicting those arrangements, he said, runs counter to Russia's interests and to the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.

The Russian leader further claimed that Europe's current political and security situation stems from what he described as systemic mistakes by the West in politics, security and the economy. He said Western powers, after the end of the Cold War, believed they could act without error, and that their mistakes then multiplied.

Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for the BRICS summit, hosted by India this year. He held separate talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the two leaders discussed cooperation in political, economic, defence, energy and other sectors, according to India's foreign ministry. They also reviewed India-Russia engagement within BRICS and exchanged views on regional and global issues, including conflicts in the Middle East.

BRICS, a grouping of major emerging markets and developing countries, takes its name from the initials of its founding members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which joined soon after its formation in 2006. The bloc has since expanded to include 11 countries, together accounting for roughly half the world's population.