Von der Leyen calls Putin a predator and warns of risks for EU

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned about the risks that Russia poses to Europe, stressing the importance of securing the EU’s eastern borders.

As reported by The Guardian, speaking alongside Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Latvia, von der Leyen said that "Europe is only safe if the eastern border is safe".

"The risks your country and the other Baltic states warned us about, unfortunately, have materialised. Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine is now in its fourth year, Putin is a predator, Putin’s proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyber-attacks, [and] the weaponising of migrants is another example," von der Leyen said.

Von der Leyen stressed that the entire European Union "needs to understand that it is important to work on readiness, immediate readiness" to respond to growing risks and threats.

She noted that this includes ensuring financial flexibility for EU member states to "invest in their own defence" and the need to consider joint procurement across Europe.

The president added that the EU must also continue strengthening the Ukrainian Armed Forces to turn them into "a steel porcupine, undigestible for potential invaders".

French President Emmanuel Macron recently expressed scepticism over Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s readiness to end the war in Ukraine.

Reports indicated that European leaders are considering the creation of a 40-kilometre buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian forces as part of a potential peace agreement.

The demilitarised zone would likely be patrolled by neutral peacekeeping troops from a third country.

Meanwhile, Russia rejected the idea of European troops in Ukraine, or forces from any NATO country, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Putin would agree to such terms in a peace deal.