Putin has warned the West that he will deploy nuclear weapons if necessary to defend Russia’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
Published on October 1, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out a ceasefire on long-range strikes with Ukraine as Moscow steps up its campaign of air attacks on kyiv.
“We’re told, ‘Let them stop hitting your refineries, and you’ll stop hitting their ships.’ This is simply ridiculous,” Putin said Thursday at the Valdai political forum in Moscow.
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The remarks followed a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on September 22, during which Zelenskyy said kyiv was ready to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow also stopped its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Speaking at the Moscow-based think tank’s forum, Putin said Ukraine had “partially achieved its goals” with the strikes, with attacks on Russian oil refineries having cost the country 1% of its gross domestic product (GDP), but added that Russia was now responding in kind.
Russia has increased long-range strikes, targeting Ukrainian steel companies as well as supply chains, particularly in the railway sector. Ukraine accuses Moscow of deliberately striking civilian targets and keeping kyiv on near-constant alert as it prepares for another harsh winter.
A Russian drone struck a school in kyiv on Thursday, according to city authorities, as the Ukrainian capital came under relentless aerial attacks. No casualties were reported, with children and school staff in shelters when the drone struck.
Putin added that Russia would prefer to end the conflict in Ukraine through talks and wanted the country to “return to a neutral country” after the end of hostilities.
The nuclear option
He warned the West not to worsen the situation in Ukraine by threatening the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Poland and Lithuania, and vowed to defend it with nuclear weapons if necessary.
“If it is a direct attack on the Russian Federation – in this case we are talking about Kaliningrad and perhaps also other territories – the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons that our country has will obviously and immediately be on the agenda,” he said.
Putin’s comments follow a diplomatic note that NATO said this week it had received from Russia, warning the Western military alliance that it would be prepared to resort to nuclear weapons if NATO tried to cut off Russia’s Baltic enclave.
Putin warned that cycles of escalation in international conflicts could quickly lead to dangerous scenarios. “We must understand that the moment when nothing can be changed can come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone. The logic of increasing and harsher retaliatory measures leads to a fatal point of no return,” he said.
On the contrary, in the event of a “favorable scenario,” Putin said assets of Western companies seized by Moscow could potentially be returned. Putin last month ordered the seizure of the businesses and assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé, French retailer Auchan, former DIY chain Leroy Merlin and German food wholesaler and retailer Metro.
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