Russia's development trajectory is heading for decline, says EU defense commissioner

EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said this in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, the host of the Espreso TV channel.

“Putin can issue whatever ultimatums he wants, but the Western community, especially the European community, will never accept such ultimatums.

In general, I see the situation in Russia as quite tragic, because the trajectory of its development is clearly declining. Russia has excluded itself from the global community, particularly the global economic system, and its long-term prospects are quite negative,” he said.

The European Commissioner is convinced that in the future, Russia will be forced to undergo deep internal transformations.

“Putin is trying to prevent these natural developments, as democratic tendencies in this post-imperial space are gradually moving from the west to the east. One of the reasons he started the war against Ukraine was to stop Ukraine’s progress toward becoming a successful European country,” Kubilius believes.

Read also Ukraine’s defense sector now worth €35 billion, up from €1 billion in 2022 – EU’s Kubilius

In his opinion, Putin was well aware that Ukraine's success could inspire ordinary Russians to question his authority and ask why Ukraine was moving forward while Russia was far behind.

“So I would not take any ultimatums from Putin as something we should fear. On the contrary, they show that Putin himself understands Russia’s deep weaknesses. That is why he is trying to act aggressively, making bold statements to distract from the real direction of Russia’s development, “ summarized the European Commissioner.