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Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is prepared for a potential war with Europe in his latest threat, though he claimed Moscow does not want one.
The Russian president said his country supports any steps aimed at restoring relations with European countries, as he commented on his phone call with the leaders of Norway and Finland, which took place on Tuesday.
But in a chilling threat, he said that if tensions were to escalate too far, there would be no winners.
“First of all, we are ready, but we want no war with Europe”, Putin said.
“And if anyone wants it, let them prepare, but right now they have not achieved their goal to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
Putin holds a news conference after the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow (AP)
“And if things go too far, there will be no winners at all. Let no one forget that.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere had held “frank and substantive” talks with the Russian president in a bid to influence the Kremlin’s position as the conflict in Ukraine rages on.
Putin said they had been right to make the call, despite criticism from some European capitals that the two were breaking ranks and protocol by speaking with Moscow directly.
Follow the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war here.
Stoere said he and Stubb had “stressed the importance of de-escalation,” and that both had voiced strong support for Ukraine.
But the move attracted criticism from their Nordic counterparts including Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen as they urged Europe’s leaders to “stick together” on Ukraine.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said other European leaders also said they were not informed of the talks.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb addresses journalists at the president’s official residence (AFP/Getty)
Putin added that Moscow did not want the Baltic Sea to face a situation similar to that in the Strait of Hormuz.
He said Russia wanted no impediments to navigation in the Baltic Sea and added that restricting communication could lead to a situation similar to that in the Strait since the outbreak of the US-Iranian conflict in February.
“Does someone want the same situation in the Baltic as in the Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz?” Putin said.
“I don’t know. We don’t want that, but we will respond to any challenge.”
Also on Thursday, the UK’s former chancellor Rachel Reeves urged Brussels to seize control of £175 bn in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine defend against Kremlin aggression in the face of “a desperate winter”.
In her first significant intervention since leaving government, the Labour MP told the European Union that “the time to act is now”, with Kyiv confronting a funding blackhole and Donald Trump seeking to pressure the embattled country “to cut a deal with Moscow”.
Earlier this week, defence secretary Wes Streeting said that Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days as the government tells Britons to stock up on tinned food and bottles of water.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Streeting warned that the UK’s adversaries could be ready to attack the country in 2030.
A jet-powered Russian drone hit two trains stopped at a station in central Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring 10 others, officials said.
Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, despite remaining locked in war since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a “horrific attack” that struck passenger trains in Dnipro.
Previous efforts to secure ceasefires either never worked out or the truces quickly fell apart.