Vladimir Putin today threatened "destruction" for British and other NATO troops stationed in Ukraine to secure the country’s peace.

They would be “legitimate” targets, he said.

“If any [Western] troops appear there, especially now during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for their destruction,” he said in Vladivostok.

“And if decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine.

“That’s all. Because if these agreements are reached, let no one doubt that Russia will implement them in full.”

Putin said: “Security guarantees must be for both Russia and Ukraine, and Russia will respect them.”

But the Kremlin bluntly vowed to carry on its war with Ukraine unless Kyiv kowtows to Putin’s demands.

The Russian despot rapped Zelensky for refusing to fly to Moscow to sit down with him in his lair.

He promised 100 per cent safety to the Ukrainian leader if he came to Russia for talks.

“The best place for negotiations is the capital of the Russian Federation,” said Putin in what will be seen as a mind game with Zelensky.

Putin would never agree to talks in Kyiv, for example.

“The Ukrainian side wants this meeting and offers this meeting,” he said.

“I said I am ready, please come [to Moscow].

“We will definitely provide conditions for work and safety. 100% guarantee.”

Yet Putin also said he “does not see much point in direct contacts with Zelensky, but is ready for them”.

He believes that "it will be impossible to reach an agreement with Zelensky on key issues at the moment."

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Putin expected the Ukrainian leader to surrender.

“He was invited to Moscow to talk, not to capitulate,” he said.

This was Putin’s “proposal” as a step towards peace, he said.

“It was his proposal, and we see that it was rejected by Zelensky personally, through his foreign minister.”

The trusted Putin mouthpiece warned Moscow would carry on its war if Zelensky failed to make major concessions to Russia.

“Russia is ready to achieve its goals in Ukraine by peaceful means, but in the absence of such an opportunity, it will continue the special [military] operation.”

He claimed Moscow accepted that Ukraine and NATO must have security guarantees in a peace settlement - but this could not involve Western troops as envisaged by the British-French organised Coalition of the Willing.

Peskov said: “Can Ukraine's security guarantees be ensured and provided by foreign, especially European and American, military contingents? Definitely not, they cannot.”

He said: “Of course, security guarantees should be provided to both Ukraine and NATO.

“After all, what was one of the root causes of this conflict?

“This is when, in fact, the foundations of security guarantees for our country began to be violated, when Ukraine began to be drawn into NATO and when NATO's military infrastructure began to move towards our borders.

“And, of course, these guarantees should be provided to both us and the Ukrainians during the settlement process.”

The Kremlin also denied that Donald Trump has requested a new phone call with Putin.

The US president had said that he would call Putin “in the next few days” seeking to break the deadlock on peace talks - but Moscow insisted no talks were scheduled.

But Putin’s 78-year-old foreign affairs guru Yuri Ushakov said he was unaware of any request from the US for a conversation between Trump and Putin.

“I haven't heard about that,” he said.

The latest threats from Moscow came as Putin staged massive new strikes on Ukraine with at least 157 drones and multiple missiles hitting ten locations.

Reports of chemical leaks from Russian strikes in Dnipro were denied, but hits were suffered at an unidentified production facility.

“The enemy targeted an enterprise in the regional centre. Fires broke out,” and an emergency official.

Ukraine inflicted major damage on Russia’s military and oil facilities.

An ammunition storage facility was hit in Putin-occupied Luhansk region.

And Ukrainian drones caused a huge explosion and fire at a large Russian oil refinery in Ryazan, just 125 miles from the country’s capital city, which is critical for Moscow’s fuel supplies.

Russia is suffering petrol shortages due to repeated Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.