Putin warns of a nuclear response: NATO exercises in the Baltics are dangerously raising tensions

Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would use all the means at its disposal if it faced a direct attack.

The Russian president has repeated this position for the fifteenth time in just a few days, suggesting that Moscow is prepared to take even the most extreme measures in the event of a possible confrontation with NATO.

Speaking about efforts to stop Russian ships, Putin said that successive exercises in the Baltic Sea and interventions against Russian vessels were signs of a dangerous escalation.

He also referred to nuclear weapons through a familiar metaphor: if a weapon is on a theater stage, sooner or later it will be used. “Remember this,” the Russian president said.

As tensions have reached extremely high levels, particularly regarding the Kaliningrad enclave, and Moscow has acknowledged that the conflict is “closer than ever,” Putin has given no indication that he intends to tone down his rhetoric.

The Russian president once again blamed the European Union for aggravating the situation. According to him, the causes of the escalation are Europe’s arrogance and excessive self-confidence, an approach that, he said, is pushing the continent toward the brink.

Putin also warned that the world’s major powers possess weapons capable of destroying all life or, at the very least, plunging Earth into a catastrophic state.