Nato hits back at Putin’s threat of war in Europe as UK condemns ‘Kremlin claptrap’ - Rhetoric between Russia and Europe has ramped up after talks between Donald Trump’s envoy and Vladimir Putin faile

NATO Secretary Gen. Mark Rutte warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the alliance was “ready and willing” to take on Moscow if it attacks — with the European Union moving forward with a risky plan to use $105 billion in frozen Kremlin assets to fund Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country is prepared to fight against European nations, many of which are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in a comments to reporters on Tuesday.

Mark Rutte's comments come a day after Putin rejected US proposals for peace in Ukraine after talks with US negotiators in Moscow.

NATO’s secretary general referenced the recent explosion on a Polish train route used by allies for delivering weapons to Ukraine.

Dressed head to toe in army fatigues, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday received the news he had been awaiting for more than a year: Russia had taken over the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

After being blindsided by President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan last month, some Europeans have expressed extreme disquiet at being apparently sidelined in talks.

Vladimir Putin has chosen the path of war despite Donald Trump's best efforts and now NATO must prepare to take action, according to a leading foreign policy expert