President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday (September 11, 2026) that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would amount to “a war against Russia” and said Moscow did not “pose a threat”.

“At the moment, they say they are considering how to send troops onto Ukrainian territory. That means a war against Russia,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying, referring to European leaders.

“We are not threatening and have no intention of threatening European countries. Why would we? No one even realises that we have no reason to enter into conflict with Europe,” he said.

He said European leaders “are frightening their populations with an imaginary threat coming from Russia”.

“This threat does not exist and has never existed,” he added.

Russia launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022 and has repeatedly said the deployment of Western troops on Ukrainian territory was a red line that must not be crossed.

Such a deployment has been discussed by European leaders for several years but has never materialised.

Russia justifies its assault on Ukraine citing what is says is a threat posed by NATO’s expansion to its borders, the Western military alliance that Kyiv aspires to join.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency Saturday (September 5, 2026).

“Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” Mr. Peskov said.

He said the decision was tied to preparations for U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Kyiv for peace talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (September 3, 2026) there was a chance of a ​peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, but restarting talks was ‌harder because of Ukrainian attacks on shipping and a call ​by Kyiv for civilian aircraft to avoid Russian ⁠airspace.

Mr. Putin said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement.

“Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved ‌by the countries involved in the conflict — Russia and Ukraine,” he told an economic forum in Russia’s Far East. “We ‌are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is ‌there ⁠a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”

But in ⁠response to a question, he said Ukrainian attacks on civilian merchant ships and “reported threats of attacks on civilian aircraft” were “acts of state terrorism”, which he said “complicates the ​prospects for bilateral peace talks”.

Ukrainian ‌President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines and insurance companies this week that the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian skies dangerous, although he said Ukraine would target only Russian military facilities and ‌not threaten civilian aircraft.

On Wednesday (September 2, 2026), Ukraine urged the U.N.’s aviation ​agency to ask members to ban operations in Russian airspace. Ukraine has been cut off from international civil aviation ⁠because its own airspace is considered unsafe since Russia invaded in 2022.

After four and a half years of war, the front line has been largely static ‌and no peace talks have taken place since February. Each side has ramped up long-range air attacks deep inside the other’s territory, while the war at sea has escalated sharply with attacks by both sides on ports and commercial shipping.

Mr. Putin said Russia was continuing its contacts with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which ‌has sought to broker a Ukraine peace deal.

“We favour restoring full-scale relations with ​the United States. However, this does not depend on us alone; it depends on the American side. But from what ⁠I understand, sense, and observe, President Trump is committed to such positive, constructive ⁠engagement,” he said.

Contacts were taking place between the two countries’ intelligence agencies and through Mr. Trump’s envoys, he said. The head ‌of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, met Russian spy chiefs in Moscow last week but neither side has revealed what was discussed.

India is among the countries holding the “most productive” talks with Russia for cooperation in the Arctic region, a senior foreign ministry official said on Thursday (August 13, 2026).

Speaking at the fourth Arctic — Regions Forum, Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the number of countries wishing to interact with Russia in the high latitudes is steadily growing, state-run TASS news agency reported.

“The most productive dialogue is taking shape with China and India, which not only demonstrate interest in the Arctic agenda but also possess extensive resources for implementing joint projects and initiatives in this area,” Mr. Maslennikov said.

The Arctic region is considered to be above 66 degrees north latitude, which, together with the Antarctic region, represents nearly 90% of the ice sheet of the planet and stores 70% of fresh water source. While the Arctic is a sea surrounded by landmass, Antarctica is a landmass surrounded by sea.

Mr. Maslennikov’s comment came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow’s “friends” India and China, as well as other countries, are showing interest and want to work with Russia for cooperation in the Arctic and the use of the Northern Sea Route.

Mr. Putin stressed the use of the Northern Sea Route amid what he described as rising tensions in the Arctic and the Asia-Pacific regions.

“By the way, tensions are also mounting in the neighbouring Arctic zone…regarding the use of the Northern Sea Route.” “But Russia has always advocated, and continues to confirm its readiness to cooperate in the Arctic and the use of the Northern Sea Route. Of course, within the framework of existing international maritime law,” he was quoted as saying by TASS at Pacific Fleet exercises.

“And those countries that want to work with us are showing interest in it, and these are primarily our friends — China, India, and other countries. They are discussing these issues with us and will certainly welcome joint work with our friends and with all countries that want to participate in this important and very promising initiative to expand global logistics,” Mr. Putin said.

In July, a parliamentary panel in New Delhi recommended that the government consider appointing a “polar ambassador”.

It said that creating such a position will help India project the importance given to these regions in its foreign policy architecture, and also help pursue “polar diplomacy” in a more effective manner.

Most of the Arctic region encompasses territories sovereign to the Arctic nations and is also inhabited by about four million people, of which roughly 10% are indigenous, the panel said.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visits the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag as he oversees the final stage of a Pacific Fleet’s naval drills on far eastern Sakhalin Island on August 12, 2026. (Photo by Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / AFP)
| Photo Credit:
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visits the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag as he oversees the final stage of a Pacific Fleet’s naval drills on far eastern Sakhalin Island on August 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) threatened retaliation for Western seizures of its commercial vessels, describing them as “piracy.”

Speaking on a visit to a Russian warship that was taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific, Mr. Putin described the Western moves to detain vessels linked to Russia as a breach of international maritime law.

“It’s nothing but piracy and robbery,” Mr. Putin said. “If this is done, we will be forced to respond in kind.”

He added that the Russian response wouldn’t necessarily come in the waters where the Russian ships were seized, noting that Moscow could retaliate “in any area where we see it as necessary and appropriate,” including in the Pacific.

The Pacific Fleet chief, Adm Viktor Liina, reported to Mr. Putin that the navy was ready to start inspections of the commercial ships serving the “unfriendly nations.” He noted that many of the ships operated by British, French and other European carriers fly the flags of other nations, effectively making them a “shadow fleet.”

“We have enough assets for inspection and detention of vessels of the unfriendly nations and their shadow fleet,” Mr. Liina told Mr. Putin. “We are ready to start performing the task.”

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade international sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

France and the U.K. have detained tankers suspected of being of Russia’s “shadow fleet” shipping oil in violation of international sanctions. The EU has sanctioned hundreds of “shadow fleet” ships.

Russia has recently started deploying warships to escort its commercial vessels.

Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russia’s President in 2008-2012 to let Mr. Putin observe term limits and is now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, noted that many ships belonging to European carriers fly the so-called “flags of convenience” just like Russian carriers do.

“It means that by applying a symmetrical approach, which is only fair, Russia has the right to attack any merchant vessel belonging to hostile nations, whether in our waters or in neutral waters, provided there are reasonable grounds to suspect it is carrying cargo in the enemy’s interest, and that applies to any cargo,” Mr. Medvedev said.

“There are a great many such vessels, and our military is capable of dramatically expanding operations well beyond the Black Sea basin.”

The Kremlin repeated ​Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that the war in Ukraine was almost ‌over on Tuesday (May 12, 2026), after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ​said Moscow had no intention of ending ⁠it.

“I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Mr. Putin told reporters on Saturday (May 9, 2026) of the war, now in ‌its fifth year.

Asked to comment on Putin’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a certain amount ‌of trilateral work with Ukraine and the United ‌States ⁠had been done towards finding a peace deal.

“This ⁠accumulated groundwork in terms of the peace process allows us to say that the completion is indeed approaching,” Mr. Peskov told reporters, though he ​added that it was ‌difficult to provide specific details at the current time.

On Monday, Mr. Zelenskyy said, “Russia has no intention of ending this war. And we are, unfortunately, preparing for new attacks.”

U.S. President ‌Donald Trump has convened multiple rounds of talks ​with the warring sides to try to end the conflict, but no peace deal has ⁠emerged. Russia, which now occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, wants Kyiv to cede additional territory. Kyiv wants Russian troops ‌to withdraw.

Mr. Peskov said Russia would welcome further “U.S. mediation efforts” and Putin was prepared to meet Mr. Zelenskyy in person once the “peace process” was finalised.

“And for that finalisation, in order to put a full stop to it, a great deal of preparatory work still needs ‌to be done,” he said, adding that the conflict could end ​as soon as Kyiv and Mr. Zelenskyy “take the necessary decision”.

The warring sides agreed to a short, U.S.-mediated ceasefire ⁠from May 9-11, coinciding with the anniversary of the Soviet ⁠victory over the Nazis in World War Two.

Although neither side reported large-scale airstrikes during the ceasefire, ‌both said fighting continued along the front line and accused each other of drone and artillery attacks.

Russia on Monday (May 4, 2026) declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8 and May 9, when Moscow marks its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations, and threatened a “massive missile strike” on Kyiv if Ukraine violated it.

Ukraine responded by declaring a truce of its own between May 5 and May 6, saying it was “not serious” to expect it to observe a ceasefire during a Russian military holiday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged a ceasefire in the Middle East during phone calls with Emirati and Qatari leaders on Monday (March 2, 2026) amid the escalating war in the Middle East.

Iran-Israel conflict LIVE

Following U.S. and Israeli barrages on the Russian ally Iran, retaliatory strikes from Tehran have hit targets across the Gulf, forcing authorities to close airspace and stalling traffic at big hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

In a call with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both leaders “emphasised the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the political and diplomatic process,” the Kremlin said in a readout.

The Russian leader also said he was ready to convey to Tehran the UAE’s concerns about Iranian retaliation strikes and to provide assistance stabilising the situation in the region.

During the call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, both leaders shared concerns about “the risks of the conflict’s expansion and the danger of third countries being drawn into it,” the Kremlin said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier slammed “any attacks on civilian targets, whether in Iran or Arab countries,” in the conflict.

Facing isolation from the West after sending troops to Ukraine, Mr. Putin has sought to strengthen partnerships in the Middle East, maintaining close relations both with Iran and the Gulf monarchies.

The UAE has emerged as a key mediator in the four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war, brokering a number of prisoner exchanges between the two sides and most recently hosting talks between U.S., Russian and Ukrainian officials on a U.S.-drafted plan to end the fighting.

Tehran is Moscow’s key ally and has supplied it with the Shahed drones used in the Ukraine offensive.