Russia’s threat goes beyond Europe — European Council President 

Costa made the statement during a press conference with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa.

“Russia is not only a threat to Europe. Russia is an intercontinental country. We have a part of Russia in Europe but other part of Russia in Asia, and there has borders in the Baltic Sea but also in the Pacific,” he said.

He added that any country concerned about security in the Pacific should also consider the Russian threat. Costa emphasized that the United States “should never forget” this fact.

Costa also highlighted efforts by the “coalition of the willing” to attract participants from outside the EU, including Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The coalition seeks to secure U.S. support for credible security guarantees for a potential peace agreement in Ukraine and strengthen transatlantic cooperation.

The warning comes amid heightened concerns over Russia’s aggressive posture in Europe. Dmitry Medvedev, head of the Russian Security Council, recently threatened Finland using rhetoric previously employed to justify the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said that Russia is preparing new military operations on European territory, citing intelligence from Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.