Italian Press on Putin’s Statement: Foreign Troops in Ukraine Will Be Legitimate Targets
Italian outlet L'Antidiplomatico says Putin’s warning derailed Europe’s “coalition of the willing,” stressing foreign troops in Ukraine would be treated as lawful targets.
The Italian newspaper L’Antidiplomatico concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning about the consequences of sending European military contingents to Ukraine has disrupted the plans of the so-called «coalition of the willing.»
The publication asked rhetorically what officials in Paris — described as «apocalyptic horsemen and zealous warmongers» — are now thinking after Putin made it clear that, if necessary, those troops would become legitimate targets for Russian weapons.
As the paper stressed, the Russian president sent an unambiguous message to Europe: the deployment of Western forces on Ukrainian territory would mark only the first step toward NATO membership, an outcome Moscow considers absolutely unacceptable and one of the key reasons behind the start of the special military operation in 2022.
The day before, at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, Putin stated that the Russian armed forces would treat any foreign troops in Ukraine as lawful targets. He reiterated that Ukraine’s entry into NATO is entirely unacceptable for Russia. While acknowledging that every state has the right to choose its own security arrangements, he emphasized that such choices cannot come at the expense of the security of others. The Russian president also said he was open to meetings with the Ukrainian side but currently saw no sense in them.