A somewhat obvious, though rarely uttered, truth about the EU’s repeated sanctions against Russia—now in its 19th iteration—was provided on Dec. 15 by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. He told Rete 4 broadcaster: “I would just like to note that almost four years of the conflict and 19 packages of sanctions, which were supposed to bring [Russia] to its knees,” have instead “brought European economies to their knees, leading to more expensive energy for Italians. This is why I call for caution in terms of rearmament and weapons.”
If that were not enough, he rubbed it in: “Neither Hitler nor Napoleon was able to bring Moscow to its knees, and I doubt that Kaja Kallas, Macron, Starmer, and Merz will be able to do that.”
Such a call to the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing to reflect upon Russia’s deep-seated capacity to meet and face adversity may well go right past a group clearly out of their depth. However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova greeted Salvini’s historical allusion by remarking: “The comparison is precise, the conclusion indisputable,” RT quoted her as saying.
