Europe Asia News

Commenting on the tanker attacks off the coast of Türkiye, Putin said: “What the Ukrainian armed forces are doing right now is piracy. What could our countermeasures be? First, we will expand the scope of our strikes targeting ships entering Ukrainian ports and port facilities. Second, if this continues, we will consider — I’m not saying we will do it, but we will consider — responding to the ships of countries that support these acts of piracy.”

Putin stated that the most radical measure would be to cut Ukraine off from the sea completely: “Then it would be physically impossible for them to commit piracy. But these are all gradual scenarios. I hope Ukraine’s military and political leadership, as well as those standing behind them, reflect on whether it is worth continuing this practice.”

Putin emphasized that they have no intention of fighting Europe, but if Europe suddenly wants to go to war with Russia and does so, Russia is ready, adding:

“If Europe enters a war with us, in my opinion, it will end very quickly… This is not Ukraine. With Ukraine we act surgically and carefully. You understand, right? This is not a real war in the modern sense. If Europe suddenly wants to wage war against us and does so, a situation may very quickly arise in which there is no one left to negotiate with.”