Putin at Valdai: nuclear weapons will “inevitably” come onto the agenda in the event of an attack on Russian territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Forum, said that in the event of a direct attack on the territory of the Russian Federation, the question of using “all available weapons” would “inevitably and immediately” come onto the agenda.

Speaking about specific threats, Putin singled out the Kaliningrad region, also mentioning “other territories.” “If we are talking about a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case we mean Kaliningrad, and possibly other territories — then the question of the Russian Federation using all the weapons at our disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately come onto the agenda,” he said, adding: “This is inevitable.”

Reflecting on a possible large-scale confrontation, Putin described NATO as an adversary “twice our size” and pointed to Russia’s nuclear potential as a “competitive advantage.”

“And in this struggle we will have to use our competitive advantages. Yes, of course, France and the United Kingdom are nuclear powers — we understand this perfectly well and are fully aware of it. But no one else possesses the kind of weapons that Russia has today. That is our competitive advantage,” the head of the Russian Federation stated.

Putin also warned of the danger of gradual escalation in international conflicts, in which the parties may realize too late that the process can no longer be stopped. According to him, such escalation is rooted in “arrogance and overconfidence.”

“We must understand that the moment when nothing can be changed anymore may come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone. The logic of escalation, of ever harsher retaliatory measures, leads to a fatal point of no return,” Putin said.

The Russian president described this path as moving “toward the edge of the abyss,” specifically noting that “the arsenals of the world’s leading powers contain weapons capable of destroying all life or, at the very least, bringing the Earth to a catastrophic state.”

Putin also urged against assuming that nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction would never be used. “Can we be certain that this weapon will never be used? Of course not. We must keep this in mind and avoid such an outcome,” he said.

At the same forum, Putin stated that Russia does not plan to attack European countries and is in favor of peaceful coexistence.