Russian Former Defense Minister: Europe Wants to be Ready for War with Russia by 2030

Europe aims to be completely ready for a military confrontation with Russia by 2030, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said in an interview with TASS.

A transparent campaign to prepare for war with Russia is currently unfolding across European countries, he said.

"At various levels, possible timelines for such a conflict are being discussed — ranging from three to five years," Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council said.

Major War To Break Out in 2030

Earlier, military journalist Vasily Fatigarov called on Russians to prepare for a potential war with European countries within five years. He pointed to a recent law signed by Estonian President Alar Karis, which allows the republic's military to attack civilian vessels if they are perceived as threats to critical state infrastructure. Fatigarov also drew attention to statements from Europe indicating plans to be ready for war with Russia by 2027-2030.

"They claim we'll be the ones to attack, which we don't need at all. But read between the lines — provocations, accusations, and a war with Russia around that time. No one will spare us from it. That must be understood — and we must be ready,” he summarized.

In 2024, State Duma Deputy and retired Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulyov suggested that a full-scale armed conflict between NATO and Russia could begin in 2029-2030. He said the West is currently hesitating to start a big war:

"The U.S. doesn't want to use its own forces to fight. They want to fight using their 'minions'. First Eastern Europe, then Western. But at this stage, these countries are not sufficiently prepared, the lawmaker said. 

To crown it all, Europe's military supplies have been heavily depleted due to military aid to Ukraine. Restarting military-industrial production will take time:

"You can't just snap your fingers and start a war. It takes time to prepare. And the troops need to be trained too,” Andrei Gurulyov said. 

Preparing for a Drone-Dominated Future

Russian military expert Vasily Kiselyov believes that the West is using the war in Ukraine as a testing ground for future drone warfare:

"The West understands that future wars will be based on unmanned systems operating on land, in the air, on water, and underwater, and those systems will surpass today's conventional capabilities.”

According to Kiselyov, in future conflicts, the role of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) will diminish dramatically.

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Sergei Shoigu (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served as the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the Commonwealth of Independent States since 2012. Shoigu was the Minister of Emergency Situations from 1991 to 2012. He briefly served as the governor of Moscow Oblast in 2012. A close confidant and ally of Vladimir Putin, Shoigu belongs to the siloviki of Putin's inner circle. He was entrusted with the task of supervising the invasion of Ukraine since 2022. A feud between Shoigu and Yevgeny Prigozhin led to a mutiny by the Wagner Group in June 2023. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Shoigu on charges of alleged war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine. In May 2024, Putin replaced Shoigu with Andrey Belousov as defense minister, appointing the former to be the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.