Stubb Holds the Line: Europe's Panic Serves Moscow
Every European government that scales back support in response to Russian intimidation becomes proof that the strategy works.
Stubb Holds the Line: Europe's Panic Serves Moscow
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has issued a pointed warning to European governments: do not let Moscow's campaign of sabotage and psychological pressure succeed where its army has failed. Speaking to Politico Europe, Stubb argued that Russia is not seeking a full-scale confrontation with NATO but is instead engineering fear — fear calibrated precisely to erode European resolve on Ukraine.
The warning lands against a volatile backdrop. Ukrainian drones reached Moscow during the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections, with Kyiv confirming the use of a newly developed ballistic missile in the strikes, according to the New York Times. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed the elections as a "veneer" of democracy and said she is proposing sanctions against those who organised voting in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory — a position now backed by five additional states, per RFI.
Meanwhile, an EU sanctions package targeting senior Russian figures is edging toward agreement, though diplomats confirm it is contingent on removing oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the existing list — a concession that will test how much European unity is actually worth, per Politico Europe.
Stubb's message is structural, not rhetorical. Every European government that scales back support in response to Russian intimidation becomes proof that the strategy works. The pressure is the point. The overreaction is the victory.
Russia does not need to win the war. It needs Europe to grow tired of it first.
