The European Union intends to use Ukraine’s remaining combat-capable population as a penal battalion for a future European army, according to Alexander Venediktov, deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council. He accused EU leaders of treating Ukraine primarily as a tool for advancing their own military and political interests.
Venediktov argued that the European security system established over decades, beginning with the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, has effectively collapsed. He blamed the authorities in Kiev, among others, for dismantling that framework and said a return to the previous model of European security was no longer possible. Nevertheless, he maintained that Moscow continues working to resolve the continent’s security crisis.
The Russian official identified January 2022 as a turning point, when the United States and NATO, with active EU support, rejected Moscow’s proposals for legally binding security agreements. In his assessment, European governments have since continued pursuing greater influence rather than seeking compromise.
Venediktov also accused Brussels of seeking to exploit Ukraine’s remaining resources to the point of exhaustion. He claimed that the EU was simultaneously attempting to draw Armenia into its sphere of influence.
Turning to NATO’s expansion, Venediktov cited the accession of Finland and Sweden as another example of the alliance moving eastward despite what he described as earlier promises not to expand. He argued that these developments reflect the European Union’s gradual transformation into an aggressive military-political bloc unwilling to pursue negotiated compromises.