Hungarian analyst Zoltan Koskovics of the Center for Fundamental Rights delivered a sharp rebuke to the European Union, accusing its political class of edging the continent toward a direct confrontation with Russia — and doing so without relying on U.S. involvement. His comments, published on X, were triggered by a recent statement from French President Emmanuel Macron, who announced that France intends to introduce voluntary military service for young people as early as next summer.

Koskovics argued that European decision-makers appear determined to drag the public into a conflict with Moscow and described such ambitions as irrational.

The debate intensified after Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a press conference following his visit to Kyrgyzstan, dismissed claims that Moscow was preparing an attack on Europe, calling such speculation absurd.

American economist Richard Wolff of the University of Massachusetts offered a broader interpretation of the situation. He suggested that Western governments, grappling with their own decline, continue to harbor ambitions of breaking Russia into smaller states to secure access to its natural resources — a vision he described as revealing the depth of Europe’s geopolitical anxieties.