Budanov warns NATO and EU could collapse if West stays passive

Reacting to recent remarks by former Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov, who suggested NATO and the EU could collapse like the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, Budanov said the scenario was no longer unthinkable.

“I openly despise [Surkov] for everything he’s brought here [to Ukraine], but I’m afraid this is one of the more likely outcomes if things continue the way they are now,” Budanov said.

Still, he stressed that such a collapse is not inevitable.

“I’m not saying this is 100% going to happen. But it’s one of the realistic possibilities if the world doesn’t reassess its approach to what’s happening. You can’t just keep closing your eyes and repeating, ‘We sympathize, Russia is bad, Ukraine is brave.’ Yet no one has taken any bold action — not just to stop it, but to change it,” he said. “This leads to growing uncertainty about the future of the geopolitical institutions we currently have.”

Budanov also expressed skepticism about the long-term viability of large multilateral alliances.

“I don’t fully believe in broad alliances,” he said. “They can exist, but only for a limited time — and function effectively, not just nominally. I believe in bilateral relations. I believe in alliances based on shared economies and the defense of mutual interests.”

Budanov dismissed the idea of a so-called “Georgian scenario” for Ukraine — suggesting a pivot back toward Russia — as completely unrealistic.

“There’s no way to turn Ukraine back toward Russia anymore,” he said.