Vladimir Putin has said Russia will use all the weapons at their disposal if the country is attacked by Europe in his latest sabre-rattling threat.
The Russian president reiterated Moscow's long-held position that Russia is not planning to attack European countries, but said it would respond to any attacks with all its arsenal.
“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case we mean Kaliningrad, or maybe some other territories — of course, inevitably and immediately the question of Russian Federation using all weapons at the disposal of our country will appear on the agenda,” Putin said.
It comes as several Russian embassies in Europe this week issued statements that said Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and (the) Kaliningrad region”. They provided no evidence to support such a claim.
“There should be no mistake — Russia would be ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate (the) Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country,” the Russian Embassy in Ireland said in its statement on Tuesday.
Watch: Ukraine strikes two ships linked to Russia in Black Sea, Zelensky says
Russia intensifies airstrikes
Russia has intensified airstrikes as its overall frontline advances have slowed this year.
One person was wounded on Thursday in a Russian attack on a business centre in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional officials said.
City administration chief Serhiy Lysak said infrastructure had been damaged but gave no further details.
Odesa and the surrounding region have been a frequent target of attacks aimed partly at choking Kyiv's export revenues.
Russia, which says it strikes only military targets, reported that it had attacked a data centre in Odesa and a cargo vessel in the nearby port of Chornomorsk.
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks on Russia, striking oil refineries and major online retailers to try to undermine Moscow's war effort.
One man was killed when a Ukrainian drone exploded in the town of Graivoron in Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities said on Thursday.
Merz warns of more Russian hybrid attacks as he reaffirms support for Ukraine
Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Thursday that Germany faced more hybrid attacks from Russia as he pledged to continue support for Ukraine ahead of what is likely to be its harshest winter since the start of Russia's invasion in 2022.
German authorities have warned repeatedly that Russia is conducting a hybrid campaign of drone and cyber attacks, accusing Moscow of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.
"We are preparing for further hybrid attacks, including serious ones," Merz said in a speech marking the award of the 2026 Westphalian Peace Prize to the NATO alliance.
Moscow has rejected the accusations from Western governments and intelligence services.Speaking to a forum of Russia experts on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was not about to attack foreign factories that produce weapons for Ukraine but that this was something Russian intelligence services needed to track closely.
Merz and his conservatives have been badly weakened by elections in two eastern German states last month in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) triumphed.
Putin says he will use ‘all Russia’s weapons’ against Europe if attacked in chilling threat
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will use all the weapons at their disposal in response to European aggression.
The Russian president reiterated Moscow's long-held position that Russia is not planning to attack European countries, but would respond to any attacks with all its arsenal.
“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case we mean Kaliningrad, or maybe some other territories — of course, inevitably and immediately the question of Russian Federation using all weapons at the disposal of our country will appear on the agenda,” Putin said.
It comes as several Russian embassies in Europe this week issued statements that said Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and (the) Kaliningrad region.”
They accused European leaders of “playing a dangerous game” by saying Russia might attack another country or ramp up a campaign of destabilising attacks with drones and sabotage. Moscow has called the allegations absurd.
Watch: Ukraine strikes two ships linked to Russia in Black Sea, Zelensky says
Putin says Western companies could get their Russian assets back
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Western companies could get their Russian assets back if "a favourable scenario" came to pass.
Speaking at the Valdai Forum of international experts, Putin said: "We have not nationalised anything from anyone. Yes, we are placing certain enterprises under external administration.
“But in some European countries, they have simply, in a blatant breach of every conceivable and inconceivable rule, seized huge enterprises from us – for example, in the Federal Republic of Germany.”
Exclusive: UK’s top military chief: Large-scale war in Europe means our security cannot be taken for granted
The head of the UK military has warned that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defence as war returns to the continent and shows that security can no longer be taken for granted.
Writing for The Independent, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the UK chief of the defence staff, and his Swedish counterpart General Michael Claesson urged the need to reinforce Nato’s northern flank in the face of new threats and “reckless acts of aggression” from abroad.
The warning came just days after Sweden and Finland scrambled fighter jets together for the first time to intercept Russian military aircraft, while the United States is reportedly considering pulling nearly a third of its forces out of Europe.
Merz warns of more Russian hybrid attacks on Germany
Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Thursday that Germany faced more hybrid attacks from Russia as he pledged to continue support for Ukraine.
German authorities have warned repeatedly that Russia is conducting a hybrid campaign of drone and cyber attacks, accusing Moscow of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.
"We are preparing for further hybrid attacks, including serious ones," Merz said in a speech marking the award of the 2026 Westphalian Peace Prize to the Nato alliance.
Putin says world is living through dangerous moment and warns of risk of nuclear weapons use
Vladimir Putin said that the world was living through a dangerous moment and that it was essential to ensure that weapons of mass destruction would never be used.
"At the heart of this escalation lie arrogance and overconfidence. This is a path to the brink of the abyss. All the more so today, when the arsenals of the world’s leading powers contain weapons capable of destroying all life or, at the very least, reducing the Earth to a catastrophic state. Can we be certain that these weapons will never be used? Well, of course not. We must bear this in mind and avoid such an outcome."
Locked in a war in Ukraine which Putin said Russia had no choice to launch to safeguard its own security, the Kremlin chief warned that cycles of escalation in international conflict could quickly lead to dangerous scenarios.
"We must realise that the moment when nothing can be changed any longer may come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone. The logic of escalating, increasingly harsh retaliatory measures leads to a fatal point of no return," Putin told the Valdai Forum of international Russia experts in Moscow.
Putin says Russia is concerned about Japan's 'militarisation' but is ready to cooperate
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was concerned about what he called the militarisation of Japan, but that it was interested in cooperation.
Speaking at the Valdai Forum of international Russia experts, Putin said that some Japanese companies continue to operate in Russia and it supports them.
Relations between Russia and Japan have worsened because of the war in Ukraine, which prompted Tokyo to impose extensive sanctions on Moscow.
Ties soured further in August after Putin visited a disputed Russian-controlled island close to Japan.
