Europe should be ready for war with Russia in 6-8 years — European defense chief

This was stated in an interview with Reuters by Andrius Kubilius, former Prime Minister of Lithuania, who will soon take up the post of the first ever EU Commissioner for Defense.

“Defence ministers and NATO generals agree that Vladimir Putin could be ready for confrontation with NATO and the EU in 6-8 years,” Kubilius said.

According to him, “If we take these assessments seriously, then that is the time for us to properly prepare, and it is a short one.” He emphasized the need to make quick and ambitious decisions.

In addition, Kubilius' first job will be to identify, together with EU Foreign Policy Commissioner Kaja Kallas, the resources needed by the EU to prepare for a military challenge. The official plans to complete the preliminary study within the first 100 days of his tenure as European Commissioner.

Kubilius added that he would be “glad” to invest more than €500 billion over the next few years to develop Europe's defense industry. 

• Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset spoke about a number of specific challenges and priorities, in particular, he emphasized support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.