# Putin Signals Possible Strikes on Arms Suppliers and Vows to Use ‘All Forces and Means’ if Kaliningrad Is Hit *Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 6:07 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk* **Published**: 2026-10-01T18:07:02.617Z (2h ago) **Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Eastern Europe **Importance**: 8/10 **Sources**: OSINT **Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/19355.md **Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries --- **Deck**: At the Valdai forum, Vladimir Putin said Russia is monitoring countries supplying weapons to Ukraine and described this as a threat to their enterprises, and warned that Russia would use all forces and means if its Kaliningrad exclave came under attack. Vladimir Putin is using his annual appearance at the Valdai Discussion Club to sharpen warnings to Western governments, combining talk of arms‑control dialogue with threats that reach beyond Ukraine’s borders. On countries arming Kyiv, Putin said Russia is not saying it will strike enterprises in states supplying weapons to Ukraine, but described the situation as a threat and said Moscow is monitoring it closely. The comment leaves open the option of targeting facilities connected to Western arms deliveries, even as he stops short of announcing any such intent. He issued a separate warning over Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania. Putin said Russia would use “all forces and means” if Kaliningrad were attacked. He added that Russia would have to rely on its “competitive advantages” against a larger adversary, and specified that this does not necessarily refer to nuclear weapons. At the same time, he insisted that Russia is not threatening anyone. Putin’s broader message at Valdai combines claims that Russia is acting defensively with pointed language about the West. He said the West is building a new “Iron Curtain” around Russia but argued that such isolation will fail and that the future world must be multipolar and diverse. He also stated that Russia tried to become part of the so‑called civilized families but did not succeed, and that outsiders were instead trying to collapse Russia as an empire. He returned to themes from earlier speeches on Ukraine. Putin said it was not Russia that started the war; in his telling, others started a war against Russia and deliberately put it in a position where it was forced to defend itself and respond to aggression with weapons. He accused Ukraine of turning Russophobia and the killing of Russians into state ideology and claimed that Ukraine cannot exist on its own, is losing elements of statehood, and is being managed from outside. On arms control, Putin said it was not Russia that withdrew from treaties aimed at curbing the arms race, but the United States, which left various agreements under different pretexts. He said Russia has proposed and continues to propose resuming dialogue on strategic arms limitations, and that the offer remains on the table without a U.S. response. He stated that Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are about 98 percent modernized and said that in terms of weapons, Russia is unparalleled, while acknowledging that France and the UK have nuclear weapons. Putin also addressed the risk of escalation. He warned that Russia may strike enterprises in countries supplying weapons to Ukraine, although he emphasized that he was not announcing such strikes and described this as a threat Russia is monitoring. On Kaliningrad, he cautioned that if Russia or the exclave came under direct attack, the question of using all types of weapons Russia has would arise, while repeating that Moscow is not seeking to scare anyone over Kaliningrad. He linked these themes to other regional issues. Putin said Russia supports free navigation across the world’s oceans and sees no need for new maritime rules, arguing instead that existing rules should be respected. He accused Kyiv of striking civilian cargo vessels and said more than 100 ships had been damaged, while insisting that Russian forces in the Black Sea had targeted military vessels and ships carrying military equipment and that secondary explosions often confirmed the presence of military cargo. In response to proposals for a mutual halt to certain strikes, Putin was dismissive. He called proposals to stop attacks on ships in exchange for halting strikes on Russian oil refineries absurd, and, referring to Russia’s response to attacks on its vessels in the Black Sea, used a Soviet wartime phrase: “Here’s a grenade for you, fascist.” On Iran, Putin said Russia hopes the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and that sanctions on Iran will be lifted. He reiterated that Russia’s proposals to transfer enriched uranium from Iran to Russian territory are still valid and said Moscow opposes aggression and supports resolving disputes through peaceful means. The signals to watch now are concrete moves around these statements. If Russia begins publicly highlighting specific arms plants or logistics hubs in NATO states as potential targets, or if there is unusual activity around Kaliningrad‑based forces, concern in European capitals will rise. Any U.S. response to Russia’s standing offer on strategic arms talks, or changes in the pattern of Black Sea and refinery strikes, would show whether the harder language at Valdai is being followed by diplomacy, escalation, or both.