Putin: Deploying European forces in Ukraine would constitute war against Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the deployment of European forces in Ukraine would constitute a war against Russia and added that his country has no intention of threatening European countries, Russian agencies reported.

"Currently (European leaders) claim that they are considering how to send forces to Ukrainian territory. This means war against Russia," Russian President Vladimir Putin said last night.

Putin said that Russia is not threatening Europe and added that these are "imaginary threats."

"We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries. Why would we? No one even understands that we have no reason to enter into conflict with Europe," Putin said.

The Russian president added that European leaders are "scaring their populations with an imaginary threat from Russia," stating that "such a threat does not exist and has never existed."

Russia, which launched an offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, has consistently presented the deployment of Western troops on Ukrainian territory as a red line that must not be crossed.

Russia justifies its offensive against Ukraine by the threat posed by the expansion of NATO, the Western military alliance that Kiev aspires to join.