Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks throughout an annual plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, on October 2, 2025 in Sochi, Russia.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the potential provide of long-range missiles to Ukraine would mark a “completely new stage of escalation” between Washington and Moscow.
Speaking on Thursday at a discussion board in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin conceded that the provision of “powerful” U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv posed a risk to Russia however wouldn’t change the scenario on the battlefield.
“Can Tomahawks harm us? They can. But we will shoot them down and improve our air defense system,” Putin stated, in accordance to an NBC translation.
“Using Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible. This would mark a qualitatively new, completely new stage of escalation between Russia and the U.S.,” he added.
His feedback come shortly after it was reported the U.S. would offer Ukraine with intelligence on long-range power infrastructure targets deep inside Russia, a transfer that might symbolize a big shift in White House help for Kyiv.
The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, citing unnamed U.S. officers, each reported on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration had accredited intelligence sharing with Ukraine, whereas weighing up whether or not to ship Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.
CNBC has contacted the White House for remark.
The provide of Tomahawk cruise missiles, that are known to have a variety of not less than 1,500 miles (roughly 2,400 kilometers), would considerably increase Ukraine’s potential to strike Russian targets.
Putin responds to ‘paper tiger’ criticism
Asked about Trump’s latest characterization of Russia as a “paper tiger,” Putin stated Russian troops “confidently” held the strategic initiative and have been making features in Ukraine.
“But if we’re fighting the entire NATO bloc and we’re moving forward, feeling confident, and it’s a paper tiger. What then of NATO itself? What does it represent?” Putin stated.
A paper tiger is a time period that usually refers to a drive that seems highly effective however is ineffective.
The U.S. president, in a significant rhetorical shift, additionally stated final month that Ukraine could retake territory captured by Russia.
Rescuers clear particles on the website of a Russian strike on a residential district on September 28, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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In a social media put up printed Sept. 23, Trump stated his view got here after “getting to know and fully understand” Russia and Ukraine’s navy and financial scenario, noting what he described because the “economic trouble” that the battle is inflicting in Moscow.
The U.S. president has beforehand advised Ukraine would wish to be open to giving up some of its territory in peace talks, which Washington has taken steps to dealer because the begin of Trump’s second mandate.
Russia, in the meantime, is poised to hike taxes on enterprise and customers as the federal government appears for tactics to help its war-focused financial system after greater than three-and-half years of battle.
Airspace incursions
European Union political leaders on Wednesday backed plans for a so-called drone wall on the area’s japanese flank, looking for to bolster its defenses and repel Russia following a sequence of airspace incursions in latest weeks.
Defense giants have welcomed the concept, though the European Commission, the EU’s government arm, has not but produced a plan on how to finance and function the mission.
Putin on Thursday stated the Kremlin is “closely monitoring” what he described because the “growing militarization of Europe. Is it just empty talk, or is it time for us to take countermeasures?”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the course of the European Political Community summit, on October 2, 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania — EU and NATO members on Europe’s northern and japanese flank shut to Russia — have all not too long ago reported airspace incursions allegedly involving Russian jets or drones.
Germnany, Denmark and Norway, in the meantime, have additionally reported unidentified drones of their airspace in latest days, with the incidents main to important disruption to airports and air visitors.
Russia has beforehand denied it is behind the drone provocations in opposition to its European neighbors, describing them as “unfounded accusations.”
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.