EU’s Chief Diplomat: Sabotage in Europe is Increasing, We Must Put Pressure on Russia as It Started This War

The European Union’s chief diplomat and former Estonian Prime Minister, 47-year-old Kaja Kallas, has stated that Russia’s intentions regarding Europe and the European security architecture remain unchanged.

“It is evident that the number of acts of sabotage in Europe is increasing,” Kallas said in an interview with DW, responding to a question about a series of alleged hybrid attacks, the latest concerning deep-sea cables in Sweden’s economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

“We must not view these incidents in isolation but as part of a bigger picture. And we must understand that Russia’s intentions regarding Europe and the European security architecture have not changed,” Kallas emphasised.

She also commented on Washington’s approach to Kyiv.

“They understand that to end this war, we must put pressure on Russia, because it was Russia that started this war.”

This implies close cooperation with the administration of the new US President, Donald Trump.

For three years, EU countries, together with the US, have been supplying weapons and aid to Ukraine. However, in his first weeks in office, Trump criticised the EU for what he considered insufficient spending by the bloc on trade and defence. He also shocked Europe by expressing his desire to purchase Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

“We are still friends. We are still allies,” Kallas said about EU-US relations. “They are our biggest partner in economic terms but also in terms of security.”

Trump has previously claimed that he could negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine in a single day. This has raised concerns that he might push Ukraine into a swift peace deal on terms the EU would consider unfavourable—potentially encouraging Russia to launch further military campaigns against other countries, including the Baltic States.

However, Kaja Kallas argues that US unpredictability, along with the overall instability of the global geopolitical landscape, presents an opportunity for the EU.

“I think that the time we are living in is very complex, but at the same time, it gives the European Union the chance to truly become a major geopolitical player on the world stage.”

Having been born in Soviet-occupied Estonia, Kaja Kallas remains acutely focused on Russia. She has a reputation as one of the Kremlin’s fiercest critics and one of Ukraine’s most resolute supporters.