Sunday, October 5, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

French historian: “US defeat in Ukraine would liberate Europe”

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 October 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Emmanuele Todd writes in his new book "The Defeat of the West" that the US risks losing control of Europe if it loses the war in Ukraine.
3 minute read

Emmanuele Todd, known not least for predicting the collapse of the Soviet Union, argues that a Russian victory in Ukraine would likely mean the dissolution of NATO, freeing Europe from the political grip of the United States.

In his latest book, Defeat of the West, he also rejects the idea of an expansionist Russia, suggesting instead that a Russian loss in the war would likely prolong Europe’s subjugation to the US for a century.

Emmanuele Todd, known for his controversial positions, believes that the war in Ukraine will determine the future of the European continent, especially in terms of Europe’s political subservience to the US.

– If, as I believe, the US is defeated [via Ukrainian defeat], NATO will dissolve and Europe will be left free, Todd said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere di Bologna.

According to Todd, the US has used NATO for decades to keep a tight grip on Europe, preventing independent decision-making. He argues that this does not only apply to security policy, but also affects economic and social decisions.

If Russia were to win the war in Ukraine, Todd believes this would indirectly force a change in the European balance of power.

– The psychological shock that awaits Europeans is to realize that NATO does not exist to protect us, but to control us, he says.

Russian expansionism “ridiculous for a serious historian”

The historian further argues that the notion in Sweden that Russia would like to expand militarily into Western Europe is out of touch with reality and that after having restored the borders to pre-communist Russia, it has neither the resources nor the interest to expand further.

– The Russophobic hysteria in the West, which fantasizes about Russian expansion in Europe, is simply ridiculous to a serious historian, Todd says.

Todd also describes how US industrial power has weakened as the financial sector has taken over the economy, affecting its ability to produce the military equipment Ukraine needs. Meanwhile, according to Todd, Western sanctions have also hurt Europe’s economy more than Russia’s.

– The restructuring of the Russian economy has been made possible by the fact that this country produces more engineers than the United States and by the fact that countries that are not allies or subjects of the United States have continued to trade with Russia.

Todd predicts that the combined defeat of the United States and Ukraine in the war would result in the dissolution of NATO and the liberation of Europe from American dependence, leading to a new geopolitical order on the continent.

The moral crisis of the West

In addition to geopolitical aspects, Todd’s book also discusses Europe’s religious decadence and how this affects the moral fabric of society. He describes how European societies have reached a state of religious emptiness, leading to what he calls “destructive nihilism“.

– The absence of beliefs… leaves people with the anxiety of being mortal, Todd explains.

He sees this as a fundamental driving force behind ideologies such as the transgender movement, which he points out runs counter to biological realities.

– The most banal reaction to this emptiness is to deify emptiness: nihilism, which leads to the impulse to destroy things, people and reality. A key symptom of this, for me, is the transgender ideology that makes our upper middle classes want to believe that a man can become a woman and a woman a man. This is a claim of the false. The biology of the genetic code tells us that this is impossible. I speak here as an anthropologist, as a scientist and not as a moralist.

Todd says he doesn’t see himself as a moralist but primarily as a scientist, and that’s how he wrote the book. It has received both praise and criticism, but Todd himself insists that his analysis is objective and grounded in reality.

– I am not pro-Russian. But I read Putin’s and Lavrov’s texts and I think I understand their goals and logic. If our leaders had taken scientists like me and some others more seriously, they would not have led us to such a disaster.

In Sweden, The Defeat of the West has been published by Karneval förlag.

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Norwegian-led training base for Ukrainian soldiers opened in Poland

The new cold war

Published 2 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
EU representatives visit Camp Jomsborg during the opening ceremony.
2 minute read

A Norwegian-led training center for Ukrainian troops has opened in southeastern Poland. Camp Jomsborg can accommodate up to 1,200 soldiers at a time and will focus on drone warfare.

The facility in Nowa Dęba-Lipa was inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of defense ministers from Norway and Estonia, as well as representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark.

Camp Jomsborg, built by engineers from Norway’s Brigade Nord, represents another escalation of Western support for Ukraine since the war with Russia broke out in 2022. Poland has since become a central hub for logistics and training of Ukrainian forces.

According to Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the training will be conducted by instructors from allied NATO countries, with particular focus on modern drone technology.

— There is no other army in the world as well trained in drones and counter-drone systems as Ukraine’s, he claimed at the inauguration ceremony.

Around 250 Norwegian soldiers are already stationed at the site, and five rotations of 500 troops each are planned for next year. Estonia has also sent personnel, and more nations are expected to follow.

“Not a one-way street”

Kosiniak-Kamysz argued that the cooperation not only benefits Ukraine, but that the allied countries also benefit from Ukrainian combat experience.

— This is not a one-way street. An important element is that we will draw on Ukrainian experience. Right next to us is a drone launch strip, the defense minister said.

He emphasized that the base symbolizes NATO countries’ unity and claimed that “peace requires strength, skill, training, a well-prepared army, a strong alliance and resilient societies”.

On the same day as the inauguration, EU leaders agreed to create a so-called “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern flank, following claims from Poland and Estonia about Russian airspace violations. Moscow has dismissed the accusations as groundless and accused the EU of trying to incite a war against Russia.

Hungary: Brussels prepares for war – and Europeans will pay the price

The new cold war

Published 2 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó sounds the alarm: EU leadership under Ursula von der Leyen is sacrificing Europe for Ukraine.
2 minute read

“Brussels is preparing for war and they want Europeans to pay the price”, writes Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in a harsh attack against the EU’s new seven-year budget.

He warns that the union’s power holders are prioritizing Ukraine’s military over Europe’s own and very urgent problems.

In the post, published ahead of the informal EU summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, Szijjártó emphasized that Europe’s security and economic situation has deteriorated sharply as a result of failed decisions in Brussels.

“Brussels is preparing for war, and they want Europeans, including Hungarians, to pay the price. The proposed budget for the next seven years is much more about Ukraine than about the European Union itself”, wrote Szijjártó.

He described the draft as “a Ukraine budget”, focused on arming the country and keeping its state structure alive, while Europe’s own urgent needs are neglected. Instead, Brussels should address declining competitiveness, secure energy supply, and rebuild the foundations for European growth, he argued.

“But instead, the European Commission wants to send European taxpayers’ money – including Hungarians’ money – to Ukraine, to finance the Ukrainian state and military”, the minister warned.

Wants to see “patriotic shift”

Szijjártó emphasized that Hungary rejects the idea that the country’s citizens’ money should be used for war efforts.

“We don’t want Hungarian taxpayers’ money to be sent to Ukraine, we don’t want it to be spent on war, and we don’t want it to cover the arming and operation of the Ukrainian military”, Szijjártó explained further.

The minister concluded by stating that the EU can only change course if a “patriotic shift” occurs in Brussels.

“Until then, Brussels will remain committed to pro-war, pro-migration, and pro-gender policies. But we don’t want war, we don’t want migration, we don’t want gender madness, and we don’t want Hungarians’ money to be siphoned off to Ukraine”, he wrote.

The day before Szijjártó’s statement, on September 30, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán directed harsh criticism at Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a post on X.

“Dear Donald Tusk, You may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union. You are playing a dangerous game with the lives and security of millions of Europeans. This is very bad!” Orbán emphasized.

Stoltenberg’s call: Sacrifice welfare to stop Putin

The war in Ukraine

Published 1 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Jens Stoltenberg meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read

Norway’s finance minister and former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says that Western Europe must continue sending billions to Ukraine – even if this comes at the expense of citizens’ healthcare and welfare.

— I know that one additional billion to Ukraine or one billion extra to national defense is one billion less to other good purposes like health, education and infrastructure. But we must remember that the highest cost is to let Putin win, said Stoltenberg during the conference Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday.

Stoltenberg, who led the US-led military alliance from 2014 to 2024, is now Norway’s finance minister and during the forum he revealed that Norway under his leadership has tripled military support to Ukraine and significantly increased its own defense spending.

His statements align with the military alliance’s current Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who has previously urged member countries to cut welfare in order to increase support to Kiev further.

Stoltenberg was NATO chief when the Ukraine conflict escalated into a full-scale war in February 2022. Even before the invasion, he had pushed for Ukrainian NATO membership and NATO-adapted infrastructure in the country – measures that according to Russia provoked the war.

“Starting to talk about a third world war”

After the 2022 invasion, Stoltenberg intensified demands that Ukraine should be admitted to the alliance and urged member countries to increase their military and financial support to the country.

Several Western European governments have dramatically increased their military spending over the past year, citing the alleged threat from Russia. At the same time, many European countries are struggling with strained welfare systems and demands for savings at home.

Moscow categorically denies plans to attack NATO or EU countries and claims that these allegations are used as a pretext to justify military investments at the expense of welfare.

— Some officials in NATO and the EU are beginning to seriously talk about a third world war as a potential scenario, warns Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, accusing the West of fueling anti-Russian hysteria.

Ukraine recruits over 10,000 prisoners to fight in the army – even convicted killers

The war in Ukraine

Published 30 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Ukrainian law, prisoners can apply to serve in the army "until the war is over" and they undergo one month of training before being sent to the front.
2 minute read

More than 10,000 Ukrainian prisoners have been recruited to the country’s military since a new law was introduced last year. Among those recruited are convicted murderers, and in exchange for fighting at the front, they can be granted parole.

At penal colony No. 4 in Ukraine, Andrii Askerov, 30, and Roman Chech, 36, are preparing to exchange their prison overalls for military uniforms. Both are convicted of drug offenses and have applied to join the army.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to kill a man, I’ve only seen it in movies”, says Andrii Askerov, who has served 18 months of a six-year sentence, to BBC.

For Roman Chech, it’s not just about freedom but also about revenge. He says his sister was killed when a Russian missile hit her house in Kharkiv in 2023.

“Most of all I would like to avenge her”, he says.

One month of training

According to the new law, prisoners can apply to serve in the army “until the war is over” and they undergo one month of training before being sent to the front.

Those convicted of the most serious crimes such as repeated murder, sexual violence, corruption and treason are excluded and cannot be recruited to the army, it is claimed.

Most prisoners have voluntarily enlisted in the infantry where fighting is most intense, according to the government. They will also be part of a new assault force that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in September.

According to the head of penal colony No. 4, about half of the thousand inmates who have volunteered so far are already dead.

“Huge difference”

Ukraine’s Deputy Justice Minister Evhen Pikalov defends the program and argues that Ukraine’s recruitment of prisoners is not at all comparable to Russia’s recruitment efforts.

“There’s a huge difference: the Russians are paid per hundred metres, and Ukrainians are driven by patriotic feelings”, he claims.

Pikalov also emphasizes that these are parole releases, not outright pardons.

Both Ukraine and Russia have thus turned to their prisons to recruit new soldiers for the front. For both countries, this offers a way to strengthen their military forces without having to expand regular mobilization, something that has historically often met strong resistance among the civilian population.

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