Putin warns European troop deployment to Ukraine could trigger war with Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters at a BRICS summit in India that any decision by European governments to send troops to Ukraine would amount to a war with Russia. He added that Russia does not threaten European countries and has never done so.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said recent incidents at Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Moldova indicated a possible escalation of Russian provocations. He cited a drone strike that killed two people at the Starokozache crossing with Moldova and a thwarted threat to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing.

Ukraine’s officials said Russian air strikes continued to cause civilian deaths and injuries. Two people were killed and one wounded by drones in Zaporizhzhia, one person died and three were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, and 35 were injured in a large attack on Odesa that destroyed a residential high-rise. Additional fatalities were reported in Kramatorsk and the Zhytomyr region.

In a separate development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian forces had struck chemical facilities in Russia’s Samara and Perm regions. He said he would be willing to meet Putin if both leaders were invited to the upcoming G20 summit in Miami.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Zelenskyy could travel to Moscow for talks, a proposal Kyiv has so far rejected. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is ready for negotiations but that its "special military operation" will continue during any talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he had a "great conversation" with Putin and suggested that both leaders want a deal to end the conflict, describing the stalemate as stemming from personal animosity between the parties.