September 12, 2026 / 5:54 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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Russian strikes killed eight civilians and wounded dozens of other people in Ukraine, local officials said Saturday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that sending European troops into Ukraine would amount to direct conflict with Russia.Putin, speaking to reporters at a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies in India on Friday, said that if European governments send troops into Ukraine, it will mean "a war with Russia.""Now they're talking about how they're considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia," he said.Some European leaders have pledged their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as unacceptable.Putin also denied Russia posed any threat to Europe, saying "there is no such threat and never has been.""We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries," he said.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that two incidents along Ukraine's borders with Poland and Moldova this week were a preview of potential intensified Russian provocations at Ukraine's border crossing points with Europe.
Two people died when Russian drones hit the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday night, while a "direct threat" to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing point on Wednesday night was only avoided thanks to cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv, he said.Ukraine, meanwhile, is under mounting pressure from Russia's intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow's attacks have targeted Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter in what officials say is meant to demoralize civilians.Two people were killed and one wounded when Russian drones struck a residential area overnight in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.One person died and three others were wounded in strikes on Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.
