Now is not time for wishful thinking: Russia is already at war with Europe – Sybiha
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russia is already waging war against Europe, including through acts of sabotage, drone and missile incursions into its airspace, and large-scale disinformation campaigns.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Russia is already at war with Europe
Russia is already at war with Europe, even if Europe refuses to see it.
From the incident in Leipzig to acts of sabotage against defence manufacturers in a dozen EU countries, covert recruitment, GPS jamming affecting aviation, drone and missile incursions into NATO airspace, damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and cyberattacks;
From large-scale disinformation campaigns exploiting the crisis in Ceuta to recently discovered underground tunnels running from Belarus towards the Baltic region, Russia is already actively attacking Europe.
Now is not the time for wishful thinking. These incidents must be treated seriously as coordinated components of a broader malicious strategy," the minister said.
Sybiha also recalled that Russia used precisely these tactics before launching its aggression against Ukraine in both 2014 and 2022: undermining unity, weakening national resistance and preparing the ground for military action.
Countering Russia
The foreign minister stressed that preventing such a scenario requires strength and a resolute, proactive strategy.
- First, the presence of Russian citizens in Europe must be drastically restricted.
Russian combatants must be barred from entering the EU, while visas for non-essential travel must be reduced to an absolute minimum. This is an urgent matter of national security.
- Second, all ties with Russia, including trade relations, must be severed. Every such connection is a vulnerability that Moscow will exploit against Europe. This requires a trade embargo, severe sanctions and the curtailment of all energy projects, including those involving nuclear energy.
- Third, Russia’s influence networks in Europe must be completely dismantled. This includes closing all Rossotrudnichestvo offices and "Russian Houses," reducing cultural and scientific exchanges, banning Russian propaganda and its intermediaries, and exposing illegal networks that corrupt Europe’s political and business elites.
"These steps are not merely demands from Ukraine, a country at war with Russia; they may be the last chance for European governments to protect their citizens, economies and democratic institutions.
The choice is either-or. Either Moscow succeeds in its ‘gray-zone aggression’ against Europe, or Europe demonstrates its resolve to protect lives," Sybiha explained.
He also noted that Ukraine has accumulated vast experience in countering Russian aggression in all its forms.
"We are ready to actively share this experience and play a decisive role in safeguarding peace and stability across the European continent. We are open to requests from every European government for such cooperation," he added.
