Speaking at the BRICS summit, President Vladimir Putin warned European countries that sending troops into Ukraine would mean "war with Russia."

Speaking at the BRICS summit, President Vladimir Putin warned European countries that sending troops into Ukraine would mean "war with Russia." Photo by Russia President Office/UPI UPI

Sept. 12 (UPI) -- President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned European countries that sending troops into Ukraine would mean "war with Russia."

Putin was speaking to reporters at the BRICS summit in New Delhi when he issued his stark warning.

"Now, they say they are thinking of how to deploy troops to Ukraine," he told reporters, as quoted by state-run news agency TASS. "This would mean a war with Russia."

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries had pledged to support sending troops to Ukraine in a peacekeeping mission to provide postwar guarantees.

"The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed," Macron told reporters.

On Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated the Russian president's position.

"It's not a red line, but Russia's position that has been conveyed to the whole world, primarily to Europeans, in an extremely specific and clear manner," Peskov told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country had been hit by nearly 500 attack drones throughout Saturday.

"The Russians are burning warehouses with food and gas stations, pharmaceutical facilities and ordinary passenger trains, residential buildings and civilian businesses," Zelensky said in a statement on X. "Just in the past few days, they have struck a steel plant owned by an Indian business, an American company that produced sunflower oil, and a Polish company that manufactured plumbing fixtures.

"Russian attacks have targeted truck parking lots, ports, shopping malls, and energy infrastructure."

On Friday, jet-powered Russian drones struck several gas stations in Kyiv. Two people were killed and 12 injured.

"This is probably one of the most difficult periods of the war because life is just like on a rollercoaster," Anastasiia Demchenko, who works near one of the gas stations, told the Guardian. "It feels like life is on the edge."

Russia has recently increased attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Ukraine has struck Russian oil facilities on the port city of Makhachkala, on the Caspian Sea.