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Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to Europe on Tuesday, saying that if European nations “want a war,” Russia is prepared to fight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia is prepared for conflict if Europe chooses that path. Speaking at an investment forum in Moscow, he accused European leaders of abandoning a peaceful approach and backing continued hostilities in Ukraine.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now," he said.

Putin claimed that European governments are making demands over the Ukraine conflict that Moscow cannot accept. He also accused them of obstructing efforts by the United States and President Donald Trump to push for a negotiated settlement.

“They are on the side of war," Putin said of European powers.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war. Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

“The most radical solution is to cut Ukraine off from the sea, then piracy will be impossible in principle," he said.

On Saturday, a Ukrainian security official said Ukrainian naval drones hit two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea as they headed to a Russian port to load up with oil destined for foreign markets.

On Tuesday, a Russian-flagged tanker loaded with sunflower oil reported a drone attack off the Turkish coast but its 13 crew members were unharmed, Turkey’s maritime authority and the Tribeca shipping agency said. Ukraine said it had nothing to do with that incident.

Ukraine has also carried out missile and drone attacks on the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk that have disrupted oil shipments.

(with inputs from Sky News, AFP and Reuters)

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First Published:

December 02, 2025, 21:22 IST

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