Putin: European troops in Ukraine would mean 'war with Russia' — SkimNews
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- Russia killed eight civilians and wounded dozens across Ukraine on Saturday, with strikes hitting residential areas in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, Kramatorsk, and the Zhytomyr region, according to local officials.
- Putin warned at the BRICS summit in India on Friday that sending European troops to Ukraine would mean 'a war with Russia,' while denying Moscow poses any threat to Europe and insisting 'we do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries.'
- Zelensky said Ukrainian forces struck two chemical industry facilities inside Russia — one in Samara and one in Perm — with Russian independent outlet Astra reporting drone attacks on chemical plants in both regions.
- In Odesa, regional head Oleh Kiper called the overnight assault a 'massive attack' that wounded 35 people and completely destroyed the upper floors of a residential high-rise.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two border incidents this week — two killed by drones at the Starokozache crossing with Moldova and a 'direct threat' to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing avoided through Warsaw-Kyiv cooperation — preview potential Russian provocations at Ukraine's border points with Europe.
- Lavrov affirmed Russia is 'ready for negotiations' but said its 'special military operation' 'will not be suspended during this period,' while the Kremlin repeated its offer for Zelensky to travel to Moscow — a proposal Kyiv has previously rejected.
Why it matters: Putin made his deployment warning at BRICS in India, framing the conflict for the Global South, while Ukraine simultaneously struck chemical facilities deep inside Russia in Samara and Perm. The reciprocal escalation — Russian missiles on Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian drones on Russian plants — undercuts Moscow's framing that it alone sets the pace of this war.
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