Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled readiness for prolonged confrontation, suggesting negotiations might soon be meaningless. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that Russia could target NATO territory within five years. Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius went further, cautioning that Europe may already have experienced its “last summer of peace.”
Taken together, the message from Europe’s security leadership is restrained but unmistakable: the risk is no longer theoretical, and time is no longer generous.