Putin says Russia won’t ever bow to U.S. strain, warns on missiles

President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday (October 23, 2025) that Moscow would by no means bow to strain from the United States or some other international energy, and cautioned that it could ship an “overwhelming” response to any navy strikes deep inside Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday hit Russia’s two greatest oil firms with sanctions in a pointy coverage shift on Moscow’s warfare in Ukraine, prompting international oil costs to rise by practically 5% on Thursday.

Mr. Putin informed reporters that U.S. and Western sanctions had been an “unfriendly” act and “may have sure penalties, however they won’t considerably have an effect on our financial well-being”.

Russia’s power sector feels assured, he stated. “This is, after all, an try and put strain on Russia,” Mr. Putin added. “But no self-respecting nation and no self-respecting folks ever decides something underneath strain.”

Mr. Putin, after joking with reporters about how sanctions may stop the West importing Russian bogs, recalled that Mr. Trump throughout his first time period imposed powerful sanctions on Russia.

He warned that disrupting exports from Russia – the world’s second largest oil exporter – would result in a pointy rise within the worth of oil, together with at U.S. fuel stations.

This could possibly be politically uncomfortable for Washington, he stated. While the extent of the monetary hit on Russia could also be restricted within the quick time period, the brand new sanctions are a strong sign of Trump’s intent to squeeze its funds and attempt to drive the Kremlin in direction of a peace deal.

Mr. Trump stated throughout the U.S. election marketing campaign that he would swiftly finish the Ukraine warfare which his administration has solid as a “proxy warfare” between Washington and Moscow. After leaning closely on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he has just lately expressed disappointment and frustration with Putin.

Mr. Trump, who has described Russia as a “paper tiger”, stated on Wednesday he had cancelled a deliberate summit with Mr. Putin. The U.S. Treasury slapped sanctions on two of Russia’s greatest oil firms.

Mr. Putin stated that the summit and venue – Budapest – had been proposed by Mr. Trump.

“What can I say? Dialogue is all the time higher than some type of confrontation, than some type of dispute or, much more so, warfare,” Mr. Putin stated.

Asked a couple of Wall Street Journal report that the Trump administration has lifted a key restriction on Ukraine’s use of some long-range missiles offered by Western allies, and remarks by Zelenskyy about home missiles with a variety of three,000 km (1,900 miles), Mr. Putin stated: “This is an try at escalation.”

“But if such weapons are used to assault Russian territory, the response can be very critical, if not overwhelming. Let them give it some thought,” he stated.