{"id":76897,"date":"2025-12-29T18:24:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T17:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/?p=76897"},"modified":"2026-01-27T21:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:44:58","slug":"public-discussion-russia-and-the-west-2025-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/public-discussion-russia-and-the-west-2025-report\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We must not allow Russia to win\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=\u201c\u201d][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=\u201d.vc_custom_1508251598805{margin-top: 30px !important;}\u201d][vc_column width=\u201c2\/3\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1508252250311{padding-right: 20px !important;}\u201d][vc_column_text css=\u201c\u201d]<\/p>\n

Russia is waging its full-scale war against Ukraine for four years already, but Germany and Europe are still strug\u00adgling to find the right answers to the threat posed by Moscow. At this year\u2019s panel discussion \u2018Russia and the West\u2019, partic\u00adi\u00adpants called for deter\u00adrence and containment \u2013 but also for keeping contact with those in Russia who will be needed after the end of the regime.<\/h3>\n

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The discussion took place after the annual LibMod-conference Russia and the West<\/a>, the flagship event of our Russia Programme. Find out more here<\/a>.<\/div>\n

[\/\u200bvc_\u200bmessage]<\/p>

Deutsche Fassung<\/a><\/div> [vc_\u200bcolumn_\u200btext css=\u201c\u201d]The Putin regime will remain the greatest threat both to European security and to European democracy for the foreseeable future, LibMod-founder Ralf F\u00fccks said in his opening remarks. Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine is not just about territory, but also an expression of a systemic conflict between autocracy and democracy. And because Russia is supported by by author\u00adi\u00adtarian states such as Belarus, Iran, North Korea and China, a global alliance of democ\u00adracies is needed to counter this.\n

During the ensuing discussion, the five panelists presented a series of proposals that would help Europe to succeed in this conflict. They also pointed to limita\u00adtions of what is feasible.<\/p>\n

\u2018The threat is long-term\u2019<\/h2>\n

Latvian Ambas\u00adsador Alda Vanaga empha\u00adsised that the threat from Russia is long-term: No end to the war is in sight, nor is change in Russia likely, even after the war does end. Therefore, Europe must unite against Moscow and invest heavily in defence. Latvia, she said, is well on its way to achieving NATO\u2019s target of spending five per cent of its GDP on defence in 2026.<\/p>\n

Vanaga added, that her country is capable and ready to defend NATO. She warned, however, that credible deter\u00adrence is lacking for the alliance as a whole.<\/p>\n

A prereq\u00aduisite for credible deter\u00adrence is that one\u2019s own army is capable of waging war. French MP Natalie Pouzyreff addressed this issue by urgently calling for a reform of the European arms industry. She argued that national egoisms prevent the necessary consol\u00adi\u00addation of the industry. The goal must be to unify European armies and arms manufac\u00adturers. Only then will Europe be in a position to wage war.<\/p>\n

Pouzyreff, who sits on the National Assem\u00adbly\u2019s Defence Committee, added that the defence industry secures jobs and promotes technology. It should be commu\u00adni\u00adcated clearly to the population that the supposedly distant war in Ukraine is \u2018our war,\u2019 in which European values such as freedom of expression and human rights are being defended. \u2018We must not allow Russia to win,\u2019 she demanded.<\/p>\n

Europe ill-prepared<\/h2>\n

Polish expert Marcin Zaborowski said he himself was surprised at how ill-prepared Europe was for war: Not only is far too little ammunition being produced on the continent, but even in Poland, supposedly a model country that has achieved NATO\u2019s 5 per cent target, there are major question marks regarding protective shelters and the number of hospitals.<\/p>\n

Dirk Sch\u00fcbel, who heads the Russia department at the European External Action Service in Brussels, freely admitted that Europe had done too little in the past. Russia has been \u2018hyper\u00adactive in recent months,\u2019 flying drones not only over Poland, but also presumably over critical infra\u00adstructure and airports in various cities, which had to be closed as a result. In response, he called on Europe to strengthen its critical resources, such as cyber security and air defence.<\/p>\n

Russian opposition politician Mikhail Khodor\u00adkovsky admitted that the damage caused by Kremlin propa\u00adganda in his country was consid\u00aderable. He added that he had not expected state propa\u00adganda to be so successful and recalled that \u2018in the Soviet Union, we just laughed at it\u2019.<\/p>\n

Contact with Russian society must be maintained, even if this society is deeply sick<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Given that there will be no \u2018de-Putin\u00adi\u00adsation from above\u2019 in Russia (like denaz\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adcation in post-war Germany), the West should try at least to maintain contact with Russian society, even if these people have become \u2018hostages of the regime\u2019 and support it. \u201cThis means making an effort to distin\u00adguish between hostages and criminals and building relation\u00adships with the hostages, Khodor\u00adkovsky said. He added that this was necessary so that one day (when the dicta\u00adtorship ends) Russian society would be open to contacts with Europe and to European values: \u2018Contact with this society must be maintained, even if this society is deeply sick,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

LibMod co-founder Marieluise Beck, who moderated the discussion, agreed: While pro-regime elites should be isolated, it is necessary to keep contacts with those in Russia that will be needed one day \u2013in order to lead their country out of darkness, she said.<\/p>\n

Khodor\u00adkovsky also called for better commu\u00adni\u00adcation from the West about the sanctions\u2019 purpose. The issue, he said, was too often left to Kremlin propa\u00adgan\u00addists. He also advocated for exchange programmes for Russian students.<\/p>\n

Sch\u00fcbel noted that the EU\u2019s Erasmus+ programme remains open to Russian students coming to Europe (however, the programme no longer supports European students going to Russia).[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=\u201c\u201d]Hat Ihnen dieser Artikel gefallen? Wenn ja, k\u00f6nnen Sie die unabh\u00e4ngige redak\u00adtionelle Arbeit und den Journal\u00adismus von LibMod \u00fcber ein einfaches Spendentool unterst\u00fctzen.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]