Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow does not seek a war with European powers, but is ready to fight if Europe chooses confrontation.
Speaking in televised remarks, Putin accused European leaders of obstructing U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine by offering proposals “absolutely unacceptable” to Moscow. “They are on the side of war,” he said, adding that Europe had excluded itself from the peace process by cutting off dialogue with Russia.
The Russian leader also issued a fresh threat to Ukraine, saying Moscow could cut the country off from the sea entirely in response to repeated drone attacks on vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea.
“The most radical solution is to cut Ukraine off from the sea — then piracy will be impossible in principle,” Putin warned. He said Russia would intensify strikes on Ukrainian targets and take measures against tankers belonging to countries that assist Kyiv.
His comments follow recent reports of Ukrainian naval drones striking two sanctioned Russian tankers in the Black Sea as they sailed toward a port to load oil bound for foreign markets.
On Tuesday, Türkiye’s maritime authority said a Russian-flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil was hit by a drone near its coast, though its 13 crew members were unharmed. Ukraine denied involvement in that incident.
Kyiv has also targeted Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk with missile and drone attacks, disrupting oil shipments.
Putin did not elaborate on how Russia might block Ukraine’s maritime access, though Moscow already occupies parts of southern and eastern Ukraine captured since the 2022 invasion. Ukraine, however, continues to control major ports including Odesa.
Later in the day, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Putin’s comments show Russia is threatening freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and remains unwilling to end its war.
“For the second day in a row, Putin makes statements that demonstrate that he does not plan to end the war,” Sybiha wrote on X. “Yesterday he said he was prepared to fight through the winter. Today, he threatens sea ports and freedom of navigation.”
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