Eight killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine; Putin warns Europe over troop deployment

Russian strikes killed at least eight people and wounded dozens across Ukraine on Saturday, local officials said, as Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would amount to 'a war with Russia'.Ukraine is facing an intensifying Russian air campaign involving ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, with Moscow also targeting the country’s power infrastructure ahead of winter. Ukrainian officials have claimed that the attacks are aimed at demoralising civilians.Two people were killed and one wounded after Russian drones struck a residential area overnight in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Kryvyi Rih, one person was killed and three others wounded, according to local officials.In Odesa and the surrounding area, 35 people were wounded in what regional head Oleh Kiper described as a “massive attack”. A residential high-rise was among the buildings hit, with its upper floors completely destroyed.Later on Saturday, two people were killed in a Russian attack on a grocery store in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, local officials said. Three more people were killed after cars were hit by drones in Ukraine's partially occupied Donetsk region.Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had struck two chemical industry facilities in Russia, in Samara and Perm. Regional governors did not immediately comment, while Russian independent online outlet Astra reported drone attacks on chemical plants in both regions.Speaking to reporters at the Brics summit in India on Friday, Putin said European governments sending troops into Ukraine would mean direct conflict with Russia.“Now they’re talking about how they’re considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia,” he said.Several European leaders have pledged support for a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine, a prospect Moscow has repeatedly rejected.Putin also denied that Russia posed a 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.Separately, Zelenskyy in an interview said that he would meet Putin if both were invited to the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December. Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the possibility of Putin attending had not yet been discussed.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday, “If he really wants to meet with Putin, Putin has already said that he could fly to Moscow.”Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was “ready for negotiations”, but added that the “special military operation” would not be suspended during the talks.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.