Latvia’s Central Bank Chief Says Europe Is Already at War With Russia

Martins Kazaks warned that cyberattacks, infrastructure sabotage and airspace violations mean Europe is effectively engaged in conflict with Moscow, as nuclear threats and diplomatic tensions escalate.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Latvia’s central bank governor, Martins Kazaks, said Europe is already “at war” with Russia, arguing that ongoing cyberattacks, infrastructure damage and security violations amount to an active conflict even without conventional fighting on European soil.

“It’s naive to think that we are not at war [with Russia],” Kazaks said in an interview with the Financial Times. While the war is not being fought “physically on our ground,” he said Europe faces cyberattacks “all the time,” repeated incidents of damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, and drone violations of Danish airspace.

“We need to be resilient to deal with that,” Kazaks said.

His remarks came days after sharp warnings from Sergey Karaganov, a former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and to former President Boris Yeltsin. Speaking on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” Karaganov said Russia could resort to nuclear weapons if it came close to defeat in Ukraine.

“What is defeat of Russia? If Russia comes ever close to a defeat, that would mean that Russia now would use nuclear weapons, and Europe would be finished physically,” Karaganov said. He added that European leaders talk about war because “they need a war to rationalize their stay in power, to rationalize their existence.”

Karaganov also criticized Moscow for what he described as excessive restraint toward Europe. “Everybody in the world now laughs at Europe, which used to be, by the way, one of the core centers of world power,” he said. “Sooner or later, if they continue to support this war, sacrificing numerous of the Ukrainians and others … we’ll have to punish them severely. Hopefully in a limited sense.”

The comments underscore widening gaps between U.S. and European assessments of the war’s trajectory. U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday that Ukraine, not Russia, was holding up progress toward a potential peace deal, a position at odds with many European leaders who argue Moscow has little interest in ending the conflict.

In an interview at the White House, Trump said Putin was prepared to end the nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was less willing. “I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said of Putin. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.” Asked why negotiations had not resolved the conflict, Trump responded: “Zelenskyy.”

Kazaks told the Financial Times that Europe could reduce the risk of a direct war with Russia by continuing to back Ukraine so that Moscow “does not win in Ukraine,” and by strengthening European military capabilities. Such steps, he said, would help create a perception in Russia that any further aggression would carry a high cost and would not be worth pursuing.