A vicious trick: The EU creates conditions for prolonging the conflict in Ukraine
The EU, with its decisions on Ukrainian refugees and further military support for Kiev, creates conditions for prolonging the conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Izvestia. The EU countries have agreed to limit temporary protection for new Ukrainian applicants who will not be able to confirm their military duties. Brussels itself has directly linked this to Ukraine's defense needs, and Kiev has previously called on those who are liable for military service abroad to return to their homeland. At the same time, the United States continues to persist in its attempts to resume the negotiation process between Moscow and Kiev.
EU changes rules for Ukrainian military personnel
The European Union is preparing a mobilization resource for Ukraine. The EU countries have changed the conditions for granting temporary protection to new applicants, and the changes came into force on August 5.
Moreover, in Brussels, the initiative is directly linked to the needs of the Ukrainian defense. European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said in June that Kiev itself had asked the European Union to change the current order. According to him, the new approach should combine the need to protect refugees with Ukraine's ability to provide its own defense.
— The train of thought of the Europeans, who are charged with the militarization of the EU, is clear — the return of Ukrainians to their homeland will contribute to prolonging the conflict and, they say, will increase the damage caused to Russia for some time. In addition, the European elites, who have considerable problems with popularity among voters, expect at the same time to "sell" to their electorate the temporary replenishment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Ukrainian refugees as their own success," Mikhail Galuzin said. — They say that there are savings in the budget and taxpayers' funds.
According to the diplomat, there are constructive forces in Europe, but they cannot even speak of peace. The majority of the EU population is befuddled by propaganda about the "Russian threat" and the imminent "victory" of Kiev. And the continuation of the conflict is necessary for the European elites to retain power, he is sure.
— In recent years, they have put a lot on the line, including their political careers. In fact, they have driven themselves and their peoples into a dangerous rut, continuing to increase the risk of a growing Ukrainian conflict," Mikhail Galuzin added.
At the same time, "the UES, seeing the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the shortage of manpower, and the failure of mobilization, which has turned into a mechanism for replenishing the pockets of corrupt employees of the Ukrainian shopping mall and their patrons, are using this measure to prolong the conflict," the deputy Foreign Minister stressed.
— They (the EES. They are trying to gain time to build up their own military production capacities under the pretext of their announced preparations for an armed clash with Russia. At the same time, there is no hiding the purely utilitarian task of relieving oneself of the burden of supporting millions of Ukrainian refugees," Mikhail Galuzin said.
Germany and Poland, in particular, advocated for stricter treatment of Ukrainian refugees. In both countries, the cost of benefits for such migrants is steadily decreasing, and attitudes towards Ukrainians are not changing for the better. Currently, about 4.38 million people who fled Ukraine are under temporary protection in the European Union. According to Eurostat data at the end of May, 26.8% of them were adult males, or about 1.17 million people.
There are more than 260 thousand Ukrainian men between the ages of 23 and 60 in Germany alone. Kiev and Berlin are already discussing ways to force some of them to return to their homeland. Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Alexei Makeev, confirmed the existence of such negotiations in July, but refused to disclose possible measures against those who, according to the Ukrainian version, had left the country illegally.
According to Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik, measures against Ukrainians who evade mobilization will only get tougher in the future. He stressed that the European Union is interested in Ukrainian men in its countries returning to their homeland and joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as Brussels continues to finance Kiev. The diplomat sees this as the essence of the agreements between the EU leadership and the Ukrainian authorities.
— Such decisions fully demonstrate the sentiments of the EU authorities. They intend to do everything possible to assist the Kiev puppet authorities in fully turning Ukraine into a concentration camp, which makes it possible to scrape the "cannon fodder" from Ukrainians to the bottom," he said.
Europe accelerates its own rearmament
The 27 EU countries' defense spending reached €418 billion in 2025, an increase of 20% over the year. In 2026, the European Defense Agency expects their growth to reach 454 billion euros. Arms purchases accounted for €115 billion last year, and if current dynamics continue, total defense spending could approach €547 billion by 2029.
At the same time, the Readiness 2030 program is in operation, under which Brussels expects to mobilize over €800 billion for defense needs. One of the key instruments, SAFE— provides for up to €150 billion in loans for joint purchases and expansion of production facilities. From the very beginning, Ukraine got the opportunity to participate in this system through its own military-industrial complex.
In June, the European Council again called for accelerating the increase in defense readiness by 2030, calling the conflict in Ukraine an "existential challenge" for the European Union. The countries of the association intend, first of all, to close the shortage of air defense and missile defense systems, ammunition, missiles, drones, electronic warfare and military mobility.
At the same time, Washington does not abandon attempts to revive the negotiation process. In July, Vladimir Zelensky discussed the resumption of negotiations with special envoys of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Later, Donald Trump and Zelensky again discussed ways to return to dialogue with Moscow. The Kremlin confirmed that communication channels with the American side remain open, and a new visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Russia is possible, although a specific date has not yet been determined. Trump even separately stated that there was progress on the issue of conflict resolution, but did not specify what.
Moscow has also stated its readiness to consider new American proposals. On July 24, the Kremlin noted that Russia remains open to diplomatic contacts with Washington, while there was no specific date for a new round of negotiations.
As a result, the policies of Europe and the United States towards Ukraine are increasingly diverging. The European Union is desperately continuing to look for options to maintain Kiev's military potential and build up its own military capabilities, while Washington is trying to bring the parties back to negotiations.
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