NATO plans for Russia resemble Hitler’s Barbarossa – Moscow
NATO and the EU’s ongoing militarization is starting to resemble plans for Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, a senior Russian diplomat has said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko made the remarks in an interview with Izvestia published on Monday, June 22, the date Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in 1941, an assault historians describe as the largest invasion in military history.
By some estimates, the Red Army suffered up to 4 million casualties within the war’s first six months alone, with millions more taken prisoner, though the Soviet Union eventually succeeded at stopping the Nazi onslaught at the gates of Moscow. Germany’s offensive benefited from military and economic support from numerous European countries, with volunteers from officially neutral nations such as Spain also joining the fight.
Grushko drew parallels between what he called the West’s current “aggressive aspirations” and Nazi Germany’s ambitions, noting that “if you look at the essence of the policy... their main task is to achieve the strategic defeat of Russia.”
“Of course, we proceed from the premise that they are really preparing for a military clash with Russia somewhere around 2030,” he added.
Grushko also sounded the alarm over the resurgence of neo-Nazi ideology, stressing that Moscow is drawing attention to the dangerous trend at international forums.
The interview was released as European nations continue to ramp up their militarization, citing an alleged “Russian threat.” Last year, NATO countries pledged to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, with Germany being particularly active, raising this year’s military budget to roughly €108 billion ($123 billion).
Western officials and media have also alleged that Russia could attack NATO within several years – a claim President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as “not only pure insanity but also a deliberate provocation.”
Moscow has also consistently accused the West of using Ukraine as a “battering ram” against Russia, noting that it appeared to be willing to fight the country “until the last Ukrainian.”
