Russian Intelligence Director Warns of Rising Militarization in Europe

By Staff, Agencies

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin warned that Europe is undergoing an aggressive push toward militarization, driven by what he called an "imaginary threat from the East."

Speaking at an international gathering of senior security officials, Naryshkin drew stark comparisons between current European rhetoric and the propaganda used by Nazi Germany before World War II.

He stated, "European citizens are being persuaded of the need for militarization, scaring them with an imaginary threat from the East."

"By the way, Hitler acted in the same way on the eve of World War II," accusing Europe’s ruling class of lacking independent strategic thinking, claiming that many leaders had become complacent under US tutelage.

"The European ruling groups, accustomed to living under American tutelage, seem to have become unaccustomed to strategic thinking," he said.

Naryshkin identified the Ukrainian crisis as a clear example of this mindset, criticizing European nations for using Ukraine as a geopolitical tool against Russia.

He added that "Europe persists in trying to use Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia and at the same time arming itself."

Additionally, he condemned what he termed the neocolonial inertia of the European Union, describing its continued actions as an extension of outdated imperialistic logic.