Putin says Russia is ready for war with Europe but does not want one

Putin's warning from Moscow

Russia is prepared for a possible war with Europe but does not want one, Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. Rzeczpospolita reports that the third Russia-Africa summit took place in Moscow on 28 and 29 October, and RIA Nowosti carried his remarks. Putin warned that if tensions escalated too far there would be no winners, and said nobody should forget that. He claimed that many people in Europe were preparing for war with Russia by 2030, and argued that the West had not achieved its aim of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia in the war in Ukraine. He added that Russia remembers the lessons of the First and Second World Wars and is doing all it can to prevent anything similar.

Calls with Norway and Finland

Putin tied his warning to phone calls held in the days before with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. According to Putin, both leaders stressed that they were not speaking for the European Union as an organisation but in a national capacity. He said Moscow supports any step toward restoring full relations with European countries, whether through the EU or on a bilateral basis. Rzeczpospolita adds that the calls concerned Russia's attack on Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end it. LBC described the call as apparently amicable.

The Strait of Hormuz comparison

Putin said Moscow does not want the Baltic Sea to see a situation similar to the one in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, while adding that Russia is ready to answer any challenge. He did not say which events or actions he had in mind, according to rmf24. Rzeczpospolita reports that Iran has effectively blocked the strait since the start of its war with the United States and Israel, a blockage that pushed up energy prices worldwide, and that about 20% of global liquefied natural gas transit passed through it before the conflict. LBC wrote that the Baltic Sea itself has been effectively blocked since the US-Iran war began in February. The reports differ on the sea Putin was describing: rmf24 and Adnkronos quote him on the Baltic, while Rzeczpospolita says he also spoke about the Black Sea, where reports of another drone attack had emerged shortly before his comments.

Hybrid escalation risk

Western intelligence services have warned since spring 2026 that Russia could escalate against European states and NATO. Rzeczpospolita judges that the more likely form would be a sharper hybrid war, with more cyberattacks and acts of sabotage in NATO countries rather than regular combat operations.