Andrey Sushentsov, dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO and a member of the Scientific-Expert Council under Russia’s Security Council, said the Ukraine conflict is entering its final phase. His interview, first published in Russian by TASS, was translated and edited by RT. The questions were put by Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Sushentsov said the United States first treated Ukraine as a neighbouring state with large armed forces that a maritime power could support against a continental rival. He said Washington later judged that many of its aims had been met, turned its priorities toward East Asia and handed responsibility for supporting Ukraine to NATO allies, while casting itself as a moderator. He said US strategic documents express an interest in ending the crisis, and he described the handover as treacherous toward both Ukraine and European allies.
He argued that Western Europe lacks comparable military resources, technology and strategic experience, and that its main instrument is finance. He said domestic debt in most major European states is approaching or exceeding 100% of GDP, that those states cannot offset military spending from outside, and that there is no prospect of a Ukrainian victory or of recovering losses through new deals with Russia. Citing President Vladimir Putin, he described European policy so far as a series of mistakes.
Sushentsov said Western European states do not have the strategic autonomy of Russia or the United States and need consensus among nearly 30 countries for major decisions. He said the European Commission depends on national budgets, debt is counted country by country, and there is no unified army. He said Europeans fear being drawn directly into a military crisis with Russia, and that talk of sending troops into Ukraine always comes with the condition that it would follow a lasting peace and a ceasefire. He put the debt financing used to support Ukraine at nearly $500 billion and said it had not produced the needed strategic result.
Kuznetsov noted that Brussels has added Sushentsov to its sanctions list while some European leaders call for dialogue. Sushentsov said an anti-Russian stance is the main platform holding Western Europe together, though its weight differs by country. He said Palestine and the Middle East matter more to Spain, while the Baltic states and Northern Europe take a more alarmist line, and that no one wants to commit their own forces as North Korea has done on Russia’s side. He said Europe’s defence industry remains fragmented, with about 15 types of main battle tank and guns of different calibres.
He described financial aid to Ukraine, the seizure of Russian gold and foreign-exchange reserves, and the withholding of revenues as steps through which Europeans try to build their own agency and spread responsibility. He said Russia would invite them to talks only if they sought peace alongside Russia rather than against it.
On what he called the pyramid of trust around Ukraine, Sushentsov said Russia is trying to wear down opponents and show that their aims cannot be reached. He said opposition in Western countries is already calling the strategy a dead end. He pointed to heavy criticism of Friedrich Merz’s visit to Kiev, at a time of rising German national debt, after the chancellor again promised money and resources. He asked who would answer for hundreds of billions of euros spent on what he called a futile venture. He said the crisis could end in the coming months or years, and that he was not describing a decade-long war.