Putin warns West that Russia is ready to use every weapon to protect Kaliningrad

ByPaul Kirby, Europe digital editor and Alys Davies.

Key points

• We do not intend to attack anyone in 2029, in 2030, in 2050.
• Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ramping up attacks every winter since the war on Ukraine began in 2022.
• Vladimir Putin has remarked Russia will apply all weapons at his disposal if it considers it has come under direct attack in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
• Western allies have faced a surge in so-called hybrid warfare incidents blamed on Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltics in recent months.
• Rosenberg: Putin demonstrates no sign of stopping the war as Russia doubles down on Ukraine.

Addressing the Valdai foreign policy forum, Putin insisted Russia was "not threatening anyone" and merely responding to statements by Western leaders that Moscow was preparing for war in 2029 or 2030.

Throughout this week, Russia has accused Nato of preparing to blockade its territory. It borders Lithuania and Poland, warning that it would even be prepared to employ nuclear weapons if the West tried to cut off Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia.

Nato has sought to calm the situation, stressing it is a defensive alliance and urging Moscow to stop its "nuclear threats".

Last week alone Poland remarked a Russian helicopter had strayed into its territory adjacent to Kaliningrad and Lithuania stated its population felt "constantly threatened" by Russia, in part since of drones entering the nation's airspace.

After a drone armed with explosives was identified in August on the tarmac at Leipzig airport close to Ukrainian cargo planes, german Chancellor Friedrich Merz remarked on Thursday that his country was preparing for further hybrid attacks, "including serious ones".

In a wide-ranging speech, the Russian leader informed his audience he believed that international conflicts were highly probable to continue, but would obtain better as "Western hegemony" weakened.

Although Putin himself began the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, he again blamed the West for provoking the invasion, arguing that it had simply been forced to defend itself and take up arms.

He additionally insisted that Russia's attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were a direct response to Ukraine's strikes on Russia's oil refineries, and on its ships in the Black Sea.

"Now from every direction we're receiving calls 'let's stop'. But they began it, " he stated.

Putin admitted Kyiv had "got some results" from its refinery attacks and Russia had lost regarding 1% of its GDP. Ukraine maintains it began attacking Russian oil infrastructure since it assisted the Kremlin finance the war.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ramping up attacks every winter since the war on Ukraine began in 2022. Other civilian infrastructure is additionally regularly hit, and a key bridge in Kyiv was attacked by drones on Thursday. Putin additionally accused the West of instigating other conflicts.

"If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation, in this case we are talking about Kaliningrad but possibly some other territories, of course the issue of use by the Russian Federation of all arms at the disposal of our country will inevitably and immediately be on the agenda, " he remarked.

He accused Nato of holding naval manoeuvres in the Baltic Sea which he argued represented serious threats to Kaliningrad. If the territory came under Western blockade, he remarked Russia would be prepared to apply all means and forces, including nuclear.

"We are not threatening anyone. We do not intend to attack anyone in 2029, in 2030, in 2050. But if we come throughout an aggression we will have to respond. Citizens of European countries should be fully aware of that."

He continued that while he was aware of the nuclear capabilities of countries such as the UK and France, the weapons at its disposal were unparalleled.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte created clear on Wednesday that none of the alliance's "exercises or activities" posed any threat to Moscow and the Kremlin's messaging was "absolutely not called for and not helpful".

Putin spent some time talking regarding leading countries in the world having armaments at their disposal that could "swipe away all life or at least push the Earth to catastrophic consequences", and stated unfortunately no-one could be sure they would never be applied.

He drew the analogy of a gun sitting on a theatre stage – if it was hanging there at the start of the show, it would certainly fire at the end.

He appeared to call for the rules of warfare to be rewritten, and cautioned of the increasing risk of artificial intelligence.

"The automation and digitalisation of warfare leads to its gamification. This leads to degradation and sliding back of humanity to barbarity, " he remarked.

For now, putin warns West that Russia is ready to use every weapon to remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.