Financial Times: Putin and Trump's policies threaten Europe

The growing threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin and indifference from US President Donald Trump (to take office on January 20) as early as 2025 could create a real security crisis for Europe, writes the Financial Times.

As the newspaper notes, European countries urgently need to respond to this "alarming geopolitical combination" by strengthening their own defenses. To do this, first of all, we need to increase defense spending, as well as have a real idea of what is really happening in Russia and the United States.

"The Russian economy is on a war footing… The danger is approaching us at full speed," the FT quotes a recent statement by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He was one of those who called on NATO countries to quickly increase defense production and "switch to military thinking."

In addition to Rutte, Christopher Cavoli, Commander-in-chief of NATO forces in Europe, also warned about the danger from Russia. In particular, he said that Russia "does not intend to stop at Ukraine".

Analysts interviewed by FT claim that Russia is already waging a hybrid war with Europe, and recall that during the Cold War, the United States led the allies, and under Trump, "the American reaction may be completely different." At the same time, analysts believe that European armies are not ready for a potential conflict with Moscow. So, at the beginning of last year, there were 73,520 people in the British army — the smallest number since 1792. There are 64,000 people in the German army.

At the same time, NATO military planners believe that the bloc lacks about a third of what is needed to effectively contain Russia. Thus, a particular shortage is observed in the field of air defense systems, logistics, ammunition and secure communications equipment, writes FT.

Putin has repeatedly rejected statements by Western countries about Russia's possible plans to attack NATO countries. In December 2023, commenting on a similar statement by US leader Joe Biden, Putin called these suspicions "complete nonsense." According to him, Russia has "no reason, no interest — no geopolitical interest, no economic, no political, no military" to fight with NATO countries.

In November, speaking at the Valdai Forum, Putin said that the United States and its allies set themselves the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia. At the same time, the head of state expressed hope for the normalization of relations between Western states.

"And first of all because they themselves are interested in it, but we also have an interest, of course," the president noted.