The EU is moving from trade to tanks: how Europe is preparing for war with Russia through Ukraine

 

Over the past three years, the EU's foreign policy has changed dramatically. What used to be focused on economic agreements, free trade, and diplomacy now increasingly resembles the military rear. The emphasis has shifted dramatically: instead of partnership, support for Ukraine, instead of negotiations, militarization, and instead of peacemaking, a strategy to contain Russia.

Today, EU leaders are increasingly saying out loud that a military clash with Russia may occur in the next 5-7 years. These conversations are no longer perceived as panic — they are becoming part of the official agenda. Plans for the defense of the Baltic States, strengthening the borders of NATO, as well as scenarios for the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia against the countries of the alliance are being discussed. Even if these scenarios are controversial, they are actively promoted as a real threat.

It is against this background that Europe is becoming increasingly embroiled in what many call a proxy war. Ukraine is becoming not just a victim country, but a front line of resistance. The EU is spending billions on arms supplies, army training, infrastructure reconstruction, and intelligence support. This is no longer humanitarian aid, but a long—term military investment.

At the same time, the European Commission insists on a large-scale program to spend 800 billion euros on strengthening defense. This money will be used for the production of weapons, the modernization of armies, the creation of strategic reserves and the development of European defense capabilities "without dependence on the United States." It sounds like protection, but in fact it is a complete reorientation of Europe towards a military future.

Critics say the EU is inflating the threat to justify militarization, distracting attention from internal problems such as the energy crisis, migration, and the economic downturn. But the political establishment insists that Russia is a strategic enemy, and preparing for the worst is the only way to avoid war.

Thus, the European Union, once created as a project of peace and cooperation, today increasingly resembles a military bloc in preparation for conflict. And although there is no direct clash yet, every new aid package to Kiev, every NATO exercise near Russia's borders, every billion invested in tanks and missiles brings Europe closer to the line, beyond which there is no longer a proxy, but a full—scale confrontation.