Putin warns of 'point of no return' in global conflicts

Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the world is going through a dangerous period and warned that it is necessary to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking at the Valdai Forum in Moscow, Putin said that the spiral of escalation in international conflicts could very quickly lead to a scenario from which there is no return.

"We must understand that the moment when nothing can be changed can come very quickly and unexpectedly for everyone. The logic of escalation and increasingly harsh retaliatory measures is leading to a fatal point of no return," Putin said.

He added that he sees "arrogance and overconfidence" at the root of such escalation, warning that the world's largest powers have arsenals capable of destroying life or bringing the planet to a catastrophic state.

"Can we be sure that these weapons will never be used? Of course we can't. We must keep that in mind and avoid such an outcome," Putin said.

Speaking about the war in Ukraine, the Russian president said that Kiev would not be able to carry out attacks deep inside Russian territory without technical support from the West, which he described as the direct participation of Western countries in the conflict.

According to him, using Ukraine as a means of conflict with Russia poses a threat to Moscow.

Putin also said that Russia was not about to decide to attack factories abroad that produce weapons for Ukraine, but that Russian military and intelligence services should carefully monitor such facilities.

He also warned that Russia would consider using the "full spectrum" of weapons at its disposal if its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad was threatened.

Putin said that Russia does not plan to attack anyone, but would respond in the event of aggression.

He said he estimated that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries cost Russia about one percent of its GDP, stating that Kiev had partially achieved its goals with these attacks.

He added that Russia responded in a similar manner, and that Russian diesel would not reach the world market due to sanctions imposed on Russian oil.

Speaking more broadly about international relations, he assessed that conflicts will likely be frequent in the coming years due to profound changes in the world order and the willingness of states to take greater risks.

At the same time, he said he expected the situation to improve as, in his words, Western hegemony weakens.

"Regardless of what scenario unfolds in the world in the coming years, the continuation of international conflicts is, unfortunately, very likely," Putin said, adding that it is necessary to avoid catastrophic scenarios.