Vladimir Putin has described nations supplying Ukraine with weapons as “a threat”, while maintaining that Russia itself poses no danger to other countries.
Speaking at the Valdai foreign policy forum in Moscow, the Russian president also said he could not exclude the possibility of weapons of mass destruction being used as part of his country’s foreign policy.
“Russia is not going to attack anyone but, if attacked, will have to retaliate,” Putin told the annual Valdai Discussion Club during a speech lasting more than three hours.
He said European Union citizens needed to understand that position, while warning that countries sending weapons to Kyiv—and Western nations conducting military exercises—would be regarded as threats.
“We are not threatening anyone, we are not going to attack anyone in 2029, or in 2030, or in 2050, but if faced with aggression, we will have to respond,” Putin said.
His remarks came as Britain continued to face retaliation and threats from the Kremlin following the use of UK-made drones against targets inside Russia. Moscow has also objected to Britain sharing missile plans with Kyiv to support the expansion of Ukraine’s domestic weapons production.
On Wednesday, Putin warned NATO that Russia could resort to nuclear weapons if he believed the Kremlin’s European outpost of Kaliningrad or the strategically important region of Murmansk was being cut off.
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave bordered by NATO members Poland and Lithuania. It has been identified as a potential launch site for Russian nuclear missiles. Murmansk, meanwhile, lies on Russia’s mainland and is home to the country’s Northern Fleet.
In a sharply worded message on Telegram, the Russian Embassy in London warned: “Those advocating plans to blockade or strike Kaliningrad should have no illusions about the consequences.
Vladimir Putin has labelled countries supplying Ukraine with weapons “a threat” at the annual Valdai Discussion Club on Thursday
“Any British or NATO military action against Russian territory would be met with a response using all means at Russia’s disposal, including nuclear weapons.”
Also on Wednesday, Moscow accused NATO of pursuing a “dangerous and reckless course” in a document sent to the alliance and seen by Reuters, warning that it carried “high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict”.
The document claimed that this could involve Russian attacks on decision-making centres in NATO member states from the beginning of any conflict.
“Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory should NATO countries undertake any attempt aimed at isolating the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country,” the diplomatic note said.
Putin’s comments came shortly before a further warning from Sergei Karaganov, a prominent Russian foreign policy strategist, who said on Thursday that Moscow would “go nuclear” and leave “little left” of some European countries if they continued to support Ukraine.
Karaganov said Russia would begin with conventional weapons but could turn to nuclear strikes if European countries refused to surrender.
The honorary chairman of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defence Policy also rejected the prospect that Britain or the United States would respond with nuclear weapons.
At the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin said the use of weapons of mass destruction could not be ruled out. “Right now, leading countries in the world have at their disposal armaments that can wipe away all life, or at least push the path to catastrophic consequences.
A test launch of a nuclear-capable Sarmat missile on April 20 2022
Smoke and fire at the site of a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in a location given as Kyiv, Ukraine, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on September 30, 2026
‘Can we be certain that these weapons will never be used? Unfortunately, we cannot be sure.’
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A new world order appeared to be on the horizon and Putin suggested that global tensions could ease ‘as Western hegemony subsides’.
Putin made repeated efforts to paint Russia as a country acting in defence to a Ukrainian attack and repeated claims that Russia did not start the war with Ukraine, despite launching a full-scale invasion on its neighbour in 2022, following years of aggression towards the country.
‘I’m sure that Russia has been deliberately put in a situation where it was simply forced to respond to this apparent aggression, it was forced to defend itself, taking up arms, they’ve put us to this red line,’ he said.
He added that Ukraine was the first to ‘initiate’ hitting civilian infrastructure, a claim that many would dispute, to which Russia then responded.
Yesterday a Ukrainian school with more than 100 pupils in attendance was struck by Russian missiles.
With many of Putin’s statements heard previously, the Russian leader went on to confirm that he would not sell diesel on the global market until sanctions on his country were lifted.
The declaration comes as diesel prices peak at £2 in the UK for the first time ever.
Putin told the audience that the recent Ukrainian strikes have cost the Kremlin ‘around one per cent’ of its GDP and that Kiev has ‘managed to secure some results’ by hitting some of Russia’s oil refineries.
In recent months, Zelenskyy’s campaign against vital Russian resources has cost more than £35billion in economic damage, according to estimates, and has led to fuel shortages across the country.
Just this evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video of a new ballistic missile – the FP-7 – being fired for the first time. The missile was made by Ukrainian company Fire Point and can hit targets up to 250km (155 miles) away.
It comes after European defence firm MBDA gave permission to share information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile – the French version of the Storm Shadow – with Kiev in order for them to start building their own weapons and reduce their reliance on foreign imports.
Meanwhile, British-made drones used by Ukraine for strikes on Russian territory include the Nyan – a jet-powered, carbon-fibre attack drone developed by Wiltshire-based Callen-Lenz, a subsidiary of BAE Systems, The Sunday Times first reported.
The aircraft has a wingspan of more than 9ft and a reported range of more than 150 miles.
It was reportedly used against Belgorod last year and has since formed part of Ukraine’s expanding deep-strike campaign.
Ukraine has deployed a second unidentified British-made drone, launched by catapult and capable of travelling more than 600 miles.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Lithuania and Poland are developing evacuation plans in the event of full-blown war with Russia.
The countries are preparing procedures, logistics and infrastructure, including evacuation routes for civilians, through the Suwalki Gap, the 60-mile strip of border between Poland and Lithuania, where Nato generals fear Putin might stage an attack.
The corridor connects Belarus, a Moscow ally, to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
If Putin deploys his forces from Belarus across the gap to Kaliningrad, he could isolate Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from allies in central and western Europe.
Vilnius and Warsaw are developing a bilateral agreement to provide a framework for the plans, according to the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre.
The announcement came as Lithuania launched nationwide drills, including practice evacuation procedures at its border with Poland.