Putin brands European leaders ‘burglars’ - as Ukraine launches ‘unprecedented’ drone strike on sanctioned Russian tanker

Putin made the remarks during his end-of-year press conference, warning EU leaders that they face ‘grave consequences’ if frozen assets are handed to Zelenskyy.

It comes as Ukrainian drones have blown up a Russian 'shadow fleet' oil tanker in the Mediterranean as part of an “unprecedented special operation”.

The operation took place in the Mediterranean Sea more than ‌2,000 ‍kilometres (1,243 miles) from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian strike on the tanker was announced as Putin began his annual address, with the Russian leader insisting: “So far, we don’t really see such readiness [from Ukraine] ... But still we see... certain signals, including from the Kyiv regime, that they are ready to engage in some kind of dialogue."

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“Theft is not a great definition for this," he continued as part of the speech. 

“Theft is [in] secret... here it is done in the open,” he added, warning: “It’s burglary... the consequences are very serious for burglars.”

“This is not just a blow to the image – it undermines trust in the eurozone in this case, because, of course, many countries, not just Russia, store their gold and foreign exchange reserves in the eurozone."

Putin was also seen to push back on speculation that Russia is struggling to recruit new soldiers.

“Over 400,000 people joined the army... last year,” Putin claimed.“

The attack comes as EU leaders struck a deal to give Ukraine a €90billion (£79billion) loan on Friday.

However, the leaders failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to help finance the loan, as Ukraine had hoped for.

Belgium remained hesitant about releasing the funds, given much of Russia's international assets are stored there, with legal challenges a distinct risk.

Instead, the €90billion interest-free loan will be funded by borrowing and backed up by headroom in the bloc's budget as well as an agreement to amend its so-called "multiannual financial framework".

The deal comes as a security source told Ukrainska Pravda that the tanker was a viable and legitimate target.

The Ukrainian mission saw the aerial drones unleash strikes that caused critical damage to the Russian tanker, named the Qendil, marking the first aerial attack in the Mediterranean Sea.

The tanker is said to have been empty of cargo at the time of the operation, with a source telling Ukranian outlet Ukrainska Pravda that the strike posed no environmental health risks as a result.

“The aggressor state used this tanker to circumvent sanctions and earn money that was used for the war against Ukraine,” they said.

“Therefore, from the point of view of international law and the laws and customs of war, this is an absolutely legitimate target for the SBU.

"The enemy must understand that Ukraine will not stop and will beat him anywhere in the world, wherever he is.”

According to ship logging site Vessel Finder, the tanker was built in 2006 with its last port call being Suez, Egypt, on December 16.

The data suggests the vessel had sailed north of Benghazi, Libya, before making a U-turn.

The ship's destination is now listed as Port Said on the north coast of Egypt, where it is due to arrive on Sunday, December 21.

It comes as EU leaders failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to help finance the loan, as Ukraine had hoped for.

Instead, the €90billion interest-free loan will be funded by borrowing and backed up by headroom in the bloc's budget as well as an agreement to amend its so-called "multiannual financial framework".

The deal follows days of crunch talks in Brussels.