Vladimir Putin issues chilling 'war' statement as he warns 'there will be no winners'

Vladimir Putin has said he is 'ready for war' with Europe as he issued a chilling warning during the Russia-Africa summit.

The Russian dictator hosted dozens of African leaders in Moscow for the third summit on October 28 and 29, using the event to pitch Russia as a 'natural ally' against the west.

Amid escalating fears of conflict, both the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, and the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker earlier this month shared stark warnings about the dangers confronting the UK.

General Sir Roly Walker (British Army)

The MI5 boss warned that authoritarian regimes 'invest heavily in trying to distort and divide our society, weaponising whatever frictions they notice' in his annual update.

Meanwhile the head of the Army, Sir Roly, then issued a rallying cry as he told troops: "You didn't know this, but our nation is going to need you."

Now, Putin has seemingly issued another chilling threat, suggesting that the Kremlin is 'ready for war' with Europe and claiming the West had 'failed to achieve their goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.'

The dictator said: “We are ready for war with Europe, but we don’t want it. As for them – if anyone desires such a thing, let them prepare.

“It is highly unlikely that this will be possible by 2030... if things go too far, there will be no winners at all.”

Putin’s warning follows other comments made earlier this month, when he said Russia was not planning to attack European countries but would respond with ‘all weapons’ to aggression.

Putin speaking at the summit (Sergey Bobylev / Sputnik/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He went on to add that Moscow did not wish to see the repeating of a situation like that currently in the Strait of Hormuz happen in the Baltic Sea.

His comment appeared to directly reference fuel shortages sparked by the ongoing Iran war and blocked waterway, which are heavily driving prices up.

The tensions between Russia and the UK focus on Russia’s escalating 'grey-zone' hybrid warfare against Britain and fears of critical infrastructure sabotage.

The UK also relies on undersea cables for telecom data, financial transactions, and energy.

Security officials fear Russian deep-sea research units are mapping these routes for potential sabotage, which could cripple hospitals, banks, and mobile networks and in recent weeks have sparked warnings to Brits about stockpiling essentials and preparing.