Speaking at the Valdai foreign policy forum in Moscow on Thursday, Putin said the world was living through a dangerous moment and that Russia had no plans to attack any European country. But he reiterated that Moscow would respond with its full military capability if it considered Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, to have come under direct attack.
"If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation -- in this case, we are referring to Kaliningrad, and perhaps other territories as well -- the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons at our country's disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately be on the agenda. This is inevitable," Putin said.
He acknowledged that Russia would be facing an enemy twice its size in NATO but asserted that Moscow possessed unique weapons that gave it a competitive advantage. "No-one else possesses the kind of weapons that Russia has today. That is our competitive advantage," he said.
Putin insisted Russia was not threatening anyone and was merely responding to statements by Western leaders that Moscow was preparing for war in 2029 or 2030.
The comments follow a diplomatic note that Russia sent to NATO this week, warning the alliance it would be ready to resort to nuclear weapons if NATO attempted to cut off Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia. Kaliningrad is a heavily militarised Russian territory slightly larger than the US state of Connecticut.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance had responded by emphasising that it was a defensive alliance and that nuclear threats were not helpful.
Western allies have faced a surge in so-called hybrid warfare incidents blamed on Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltics in recent months. Last week, Poland said a Russian helicopter had strayed into its territory adjacent to Kaliningrad, and Lithuania said its population felt constantly threatened by Russia, in part because of drones entering the nation's airspace.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that his country was preparing for further hybrid attacks, including serious ones, after a drone armed with explosives was found in August on the tarmac at Leipzig airport close to Ukrainian cargo planes.
On Ukraine, Putin said Russia had no choice but to launch the war to safeguard its own security. He conceded that Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries across Russia had cost the country 1 percent of its GDP but said Russia was now responding in kind.