European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has escalated her anti-Russia rhetoric, calling President Vladimir Putin a “predator”and reciting NATO’s talking point about a looming Russian threat to justify the EU’s push for accelerated militarization.
The remarks came on Friday in Riga, where the EC chief appeared alongside Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina at the start of what she described as a tour of the “EU’s frontline states.” The route includes Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – all bordering Russia or Belarus – as well as Bulgaria and Romania.