Europeans across the bloc should prepare for a potential conflict with Russia, Swedish defense chief Pal Jonson has said<\/p>\n
People living in European NATO member states must brace themselves for a possible war with Russia, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) in an interview published on Sunday.
\nJonson\u2019s remarks come as the EU accelerates a broad militarization drive. Brussels has cast Russia as an imminent threat, a narrative Moscow has dismissed as a political distraction from Europe\u2019s domestic crises.
\n\u201cTo preserve peace, we must prepare ourselves both mentally and militarily for the possibility of war,\u201d the official said. \u201cA change in mentality is necessary: We must switch to war mode to resolutely deter, defend, and preserve the peace.\u201d
\nThe push for greater defense spending aligns with calls from US President Donald Trump, who has demanded that European members buy more American weapons \u2013 including for Ukrainian use. Jonson justified such purchases, saying that Europe \u201csimply doesn\u2019t have or cannot yet produce\u201d the necessary systems. \u201cUkraine needs these assets fast,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Europe lacks them, it\u2019s logical to procure them from the US.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Nordic country to stockpile food for WW3<\/p>\n
The European Commission last week unveiled a roadmap outlining its plans to expand joint arms procurement to at least 40% by 2027. The document emphasized the need to \u201cinvest more, invest together, and invest European,\u201d citing global strategic shifts to other regions among \u201ctraditional allies.\u201d
\nMoscow views the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war aimed at undermining Russia\u2019s security following decades of expansion. Sweden is the bloc\u2019s newest member, while Ukraine was promised accession sometime in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Europeans across the bloc should prepare for a potential conflict with Russia, Swedish defense chief Pal Jonson has said People living in European NATO member states must brace themselves for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t