MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Russia has no plans of attacking Europe but is ready to retaliate militarily is need be, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"We are not going to attack any part of Europe. We have absolutely no reason to do so. And if Europe opts to materialize its threats to prepare for war against us and starts attacking Russia, the president said that it will not be a special military operation on our part, it will be a full-scale military response with all available military means in accordance with the doctrinal documents on this matter," he said in an interview with Itogi Nedely weekly news roundup on the NTV television channel.

Addressing his year-end press conference in late December 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is not at war with the West, but its is the West that is fighting against Russia by the hands of Ukrainian nationalists. He noted earlier that Russia has never wanted to fight against Europe. He warned however that if Europe opts to launch a war on Russia, there should be no doubts that Russia is ready to retaliate immediately.