Russian President Vladimir Putin warns against NATO ‘threat to Russia’ in the Pacific: ‘The potential for conflict is growing here’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that NATO’s growing military presence and weapons deployments in the Asia-Pacific region represent an increasing threat to Russia, warning that “the potential for conflict is growing here.”
Putin made the remarks while observing the final stage of Russian Pacific Fleet exercises from the missile cruiser Varyag off Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin Island, according to state media outlets TASS, RIA Novosti and Interfax.
Context behind Putin’s remarks
Putin’s comments come as the United States and other NATO members have expanded their military presence on the Indo-Pacific in response to China’s growing military capabilities.
The U.S. permanently deployed advanced F-35 fighter jets to northern Japan for the first time in March 2026 and test-fired a long-range missile from a Typhon Mid-Range Capability system based in the Philippines in May. The system can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of about 1,000 miles, as well as shorter-range SM-6 missiles.
Other NATO members have also increased activity in the region. Italy sent an air-defense-focused vessel to the Pacific in May, while 30 countries, including NATO members, participated in joint exercises with the U.S. Pacific Fleet through late July.
Putin argued that these deployments, along with new weapons systems planned for the region, directly threaten Russian security. He also pointed to rising tensions in the Arctic, particularly around operations on the Northern Sea Route.
A NATO spokesperson previously told Newsweek that the alliance is defensive in nature and poses “zero” threat to Russia.
Scale of the Pacific Fleet exercises
The Russian drills covered the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Northwest Pacific, involving more than 13,000 personnel and about 60 ships, submarines and support vessels.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said roughly 30 aircraft, helicopter and unmanned systems also participated.
Footage provided by the East2West news agency showed Russian forces testing anti-ship missiles during the exercises. Bastion coastal missile systems launched Oniks cruise missiles at simulated enemy vessels from positions on Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands, while the corvette Smerch fired a Uran anti-ship missile.
Putin received a briefing from Pacific Fleet Commander aboard the Varyag after arriving in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the largest city on Sakhalin Island, located north of Japan.
Putin warns over seized vessels
During the same appearance, Putin warned that Russia would respond if European governments seized additional commercial vessels carrying Russian cargo.
According to TASS, Putin said Moscow would be prepared to carry out its own seizures “wherever we deem it necessary and appropriate.”
The warning followed reports that the European Union had expanded sanctions against hundreds of vessels linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. Some European governments have detained ships and crews for inspections while considering tougher maritime enforcement measures, according to Reuters.
Putin addresses Japan
Putin also addressed Japan directly, saying Moscow has no territorial claims against Tokyo and does not pose a threat to Japanese security.
The comments came after Japan identified Russia as one of the primary threats in its official defense doctrine documents for the first time.
Putin said Russia remained open to cooperation with Japan, particularly in the Arctic, while criticizing what he described as NATO’s expanding presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
Anti-drone defenses at Russian submarine base
The Pacific Fleet exercises followed reports that Russia had installed new anti-drone defenses at its Rybachiy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The facility serves as the main hub for Russia’s Pacific Fleet and houses much of its nuclear submarine force, including vessels capable of launching nuclear weapons.
Business Insider reported that Russia had placed additional anti-drone nets over submarines at the site after satellite imagery in May 2026 showed two vessels covered with protective barriers.
Although Ukraine is roughly 4,600 miles from Rybachiy and is unlikely to launch the same type of drone attacks it has used against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the defenses suggest concern that high-value submarines could face an operation similar to Ukraine’s Spiderweb mission in June 2025.
During that operation, Kyiv reportedly planted and remotely detonated drones near Russian airfields, damaging 41 aircraft in a mission that took 18 months to prepare.
Ukraine strikes Black Sea Fleet base
As Putin oversaw the Pacific Fleet drills, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Novorossiysk naval base using jet-powered drones, Neptune long-range cruise missiles and unmanned boats.
Zelensky described Novorossiysk, located more than 180 miles from the front lines in southern and eastern Ukraine, as the last major base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Russia moved much of its Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk after repeated Ukrainian attacks on its previous main base at Sevastopol in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has vowed to reclaim the territory.
In March 2024, Britain’s Defense Ministry released satellite imagery showing a Russian Kilo-class submarine at Novorossiysk positioned beside a decoy silhouette, apparently designed to complicate Ukrainian targeting.