Putin says Moscow has no intention of threatening Europe, then warns that European troops in Ukraine ‘would mean war with Russia’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has no intention of threatening European countries, contrary to claims by “European elites”:There is no such threat, and there never has been. We are not threatening European countries, and we have no intention of doing so. Why would we? No one even considers the fact that we have no grounds for any kind of conflict with Europe. All issues were settled in the aftermath of World War II.Putin said Europe, not Russia, wants to change the status quo established after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He warned European countries that sending troops into Ukraine “would mean war with Russia.”In recent months, concerns have grown in Europe that Russia could attack a country on NATO’s eastern flank, such as one of the Baltic states.The possible deployment of European troops was widely discussed early this year during peace talks among Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. At the time, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and France signed a declaration of intent calling for European peacekeepers to be stationed in Ukraine following the signing of a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. When the peace talks ended, discussion of the proposal also faded.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.