President Vladimir Putin’s blunt warning to Europe exposes a widening gap between Western peace rhetoric and a political reality in which European elites are increasingly invested in prolonging the Ukraine conflict rather than resolving it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered one of his bluntest warnings to Europe to date, telling Western leaders that if they truly want a war with Russia, they can “start right now.”

In a recent media exchange, Putin stressed that Moscow is ready for any scenario but made clear that a direct conflict with Europe would not resemble Russia’s special operation (SMO) in Ukraine… And once it starts, there might not be anyone left on the European side to negotiate with in ending it.

By cautioning that if the continent chooses the path of war with Moscow, Russia is fully prepared to respond, and that it  will not be like the special operation in Ukraine, which is being carried out in a surgical fashion, Putin has just handed Europe’s political class a blunt reality check, warning that their war talk has consequences they’re not prepared to face.

While Moscow avoids diplomatic sugarcoating, NATO leaders keep preaching “peace” while undermining every path toward it. Europe’s loudest warmongers are the ones most threatened by a real peace deal — and their political survival depends on keeping the conflict alive.

Europe’s Rhetoric vs. Reality

European leaders continue to insist they support peace — yet their own behaviour proves otherwise. Rather than engaging in diplomacy, they have effectively written themselves out of any negotiations through a mix of political bravado, unfulfilled threats, and posturing that leaves them with little credibility and few options.

Putin, for his part, did not mince words about Kiev’s leadership or its detachment from the battlefield situation.

“I think the Ukrainian leadership appears focused on issues other than the active combat zone and seems to be living on another planet,” he said. “Perhaps travelling and begging for money leaves little time for dealing with domestic matters, either in the economy or on the front line.”

He added that Ukraine’s leadership once believed in a “strategic........

© New Eastern Outlook