Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow will not attack the EU unless provoked with military action. He said that Russia will respond with full might in case the EU launches an attack on the Russian Federation, challenging its sovereignty.
Western officials have justified increased military spending by citing the need to defend NATO’s eastern flank.
Germany’s top military commander, General Carsten Breuer, said in December 2025 that the country must be ready for a potential war with Russia by 2029. Moscow has accused the West of warmongering.
“We have no intention of attacking Europe. There is no reason to do so, and it serves Russia no purpose,” Lavrov said in an interview that aired late on Sunday.
He added, however, that “if the EU acts on its threats to prepare for war against us and initiates a military attack on the Russian Federation, then it will have to contend with a full-fledged military response from our side, with all available military capabilities.”
During a year-end press conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed claims that Russia was planning to attack NATO as “nonsense”.
Russian officials have since said that Western military aid to Ukraine — including its long-range and advanced weapons used against Russia — will certainly bring the two sides closer to a dangerous confrontation.
Russia has also questioned the EU’s constant financial aid to Ukraine as a major hurdle in the ongoing peace talks.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the EU of seeking to derail US-brokered peace talks with Ukraine and prolong the fighting.
Moscow has remained firm on its demands that, to reach a peaceful and lasting solution, Ukraine must withdraw from the Eastern Donbas and Donetsk regions, followed by a reduction of its troops to under 600,000 — demands that Kyiv has rejected.
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