Putin warns Russia will use ‘all weapons’ in arsenal if territory is attacked

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated Moscow’s long-held position that Russia is not planning to attack European countries but will respond to aggression with “all weapons” in its arsenal.

In remarks at a foreign policy forum, Putin accused the West and Europe of escalating tensions by talking about preparing for a war with Moscow in the coming years, conducting military drills in the Baltic Sea, and seizing Russian vessels.

His remarks followed Moscow’s warning to Nato that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad should any members of the military alliance try to cut off the Baltic exclave from the rest of Russia.

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”.