Key takeaways:
- Putin said a direct attack on Kaliningrad could put every weapon available to Russia on the table, including nuclear arms.
- NATO said its exercises posed no threat to Russia and urged Moscow to stop its nuclear threats.
- Putin rejected a proposed reciprocal halt to long-range strikes and said Ukrainian refinery attacks had cost Russia about 1% of its GDP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that Moscow could use every weapon at its disposal, including nuclear arms, if its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad came under direct attack or was cut off by the West. He also rejected a proposed halt to long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine.
“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation – in this case, we are referring to Kaliningrad, and perhaps other territories as well – the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons at our country’s disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately be on the agenda,” Putin said at the Valdai forum.
Kaliningrad lies between Poland and Lithuania. Russia has accused NATO this week of preparing to blockade it, and Putin described the alliance’s naval exercises in the Baltic Sea as a serious threat to the territory. NATO said it had received a Russian diplomatic note warning that Moscow could resort to nuclear weapons if the alliance tried to cut off the exclave, according to Al Jazeera.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that none of the alliance’s exercises or activities threatened Russia. He called Moscow’s message “absolutely not called for and not helpful.” NATO has said it is a defensive alliance and urged Russia to stop its “nuclear threats.”
Putin insisted Russia was “not threatening anyone” and was responding to Western leaders’ statements about preparing for a possible war in 2029 or 2030. “We do not intend to attack anyone in 2029, in 2030, in 2050,” he said. “But if we come across an aggression we will have to respond.”
The warning came as attacks continued in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Putin ruled out a reciprocal halt to long-range strikes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a September 22 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that Kyiv was ready to stop striking Russian oil refineries and other energy sites if Moscow stopped attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Al Jazeera reported.
“We are told: ‘Let them stop striking your refineries, and you will stop striking their ships.’ It is simply ridiculous,” Putin said. He acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries had achieved some results and cost Russia about 1% of its gross domestic product. Ukraine says it attacks oil infrastructure because it helps finance the war.
Putin said Russian attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were a response to strikes on its refineries and ships in the Black Sea. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukraine accuses Moscow of deliberately striking civilian sites.
A Russian drone hit a Kyiv school Thursday, but children and staff were in shelters and no casualties were reported, according to city officials cited by Al Jazeera. The BBC reported that a key bridge in Kyiv was also attacked by drones Thursday.
Putin said Russia would prefer to end the war through talks, but wanted Ukraine to be neutral after the fighting. He warned that escalating retaliation could reach a “fatal point of no return.”
Be First to Comment