Putin Warns Russia Could Use 'All Weapons' if Kaliningrad Is Attacked, Admits Ukraine Strikes Cost 1% of GDP

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Thursday that Moscow would consider using "all weapons" in its arsenal, including nuclear arms, if its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad comes under attack, sharpening tensions with NATO after a series of military exercises in the region.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Putin also offered a rare acknowledgment that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have taken a measurable toll on the country's economy, estimating the damage at about 1% of gross domestic product.

Warning over Kaliningrad

Putin said Russia had no plans to attack any European country but was prepared to respond to Western aggression. He pointed to Kaliningrad, the Russian territory on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between NATO members Poland and Lithuania and cut off from the rest of Russia.

"If it comes to direct attack against the Russian Federation, in this case on Kaliningrad and possibly some other territories, of course the issue of using all weapons in our country's arsenal will inevitably and unavoidably emerge on the agenda. This is unavoidable," Putin said.

His remarks follow recent NATO military drills near Kaliningrad, which the alliance has described as defensive exercises meant to strengthen deterrence. Moscow has reacted sharply to the exercises and warned in late September that it would retaliate if NATO attempted to blockade the exclave by air or sea.

"The drills in the Baltic Sea, following one another ... Then the attempts to arrest our ships and vessels. All this is an escalation. And then we began to hear statements regarding the Kaliningrad region," Putin said.

Kaliningrad, home to Russia's Baltic Fleet, has long been a flashpoint between Moscow and the West. Its isolated location makes it strategically important and vulnerable, and Russia has stationed significant military forces there, including missile systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Accusations of hybrid warfare

NATO, several European countries and the United Kingdom have accused Russia of waging hybrid warfare against them, including cyberattacks, sabotage and espionage, in an effort to weaken their support for Ukraine. Moscow has denied such accusations.

Tensions in the Baltic region have risen in recent years, with European countries stepping up inspections of vessels suspected of being part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers used to evade sanctions on oil exports. Putin's reference to "attempts to arrest our ships" appeared to point to those efforts.

Admitting the cost of Ukrainian strikes

In the same speech, Putin acknowledged that Ukraine's long-range attacks were hurting the Russian economy, though he insisted Moscow remained undeterred.

Recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have caused widespread fuel shortages, with long lines of cars seen at gas stations in major cities. Attacks on major online retailers have added further pressure to an economy already strained by the war.

"It's the same story with our oil refineries; they (Ukraine) openly declared their goal was to damage our economy. Did they succeed? Partially — by our estimates, we lost about one percent of our GDP," Putin said. "And it was done deliberately — these are civilian targets, after all. Well, they got a mirror-image response."

Putin also said Ukraine had destroyed more than 100 Russian ships in the Black Sea.

"In the Black Sea — that's a combat zone; we struck military vessels and ships transporting military cargo, and we hardly ever made a mistake. Throughout this whole saga, they have knocked out over 100 of our ships," he said. "Well, we started hitting back, and now we're being bombarded from every direction with appeals: 'Oh, please stop doing that.'"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described his country's strikes deep inside Russia as "long-range sanctions," intended to reduce Russia's revenue and military capacity and push the Kremlin toward negotiations.

Contrast with earlier remarks

Putin's acknowledgment of economic damage came a day after he told newly elected members of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, that the economy was stable. The pro-Kremlin United Russia party retained its majority in tightly controlled parliamentary elections in September.

Speaking to lawmakers Wednesday, Putin took aim at Ukraine's reliance on Western financial aid.

"Unlike some, and we won't point fingers, Russia can't run around the world humiliating (itself) by begging for handouts with an outstretched hand," he said. "Russia's financial system and economy are secure."

No sign of slowing the war

The war, which Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is now in its fifth year. Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and on Kyiv ahead of what is expected to be a harsh winter.

Putin has said he would prefer the conflict to end through negotiations but has shown no sign of scaling back military operations. Budget documents reviewed by Reuters show Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion rubles, or about $205 billion, on defense in 2027, about 27% more than originally budgeted and the highest level since the full-scale invasion began.

Public opinion inside Russia has shown signs of war fatigue. An August poll by the independent Levada Center found that 59% of Russians favored moving to peace talks.

Nuclear rhetoric

Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly raised the prospect of nuclear weapons use since the start of the war, a pattern Western officials have described as an attempt to deter greater support for Ukraine. In 2024, Russia revised its nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for using such weapons.

NATO leaders have said the alliance's exercises are defensive and that any attack on a member state would trigger a collective response under Article 5 of its founding treaty.

Putin's comments are likely to heighten concern in neighboring Baltic states and Poland, which have pushed for stronger NATO defenses on the alliance's eastern flank. With no peace talks underway and both sides escalating long-range strikes, tensions between Russia and the West show little sign of easing as winter approaches.