In an interview given to American journalist Tucker Carlson, the Russian Viktor Bout, known as one of the world’s biggest arms traffickers, released in a prisoner exchange with the USA, issued a series of harsh warnings towards the West. Bout claims that the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is bringing the world closer to a Third World War and asserts that Moscow could consider striking logistical centers on the territory of some NATO countries, including Romania.
“Europe is not a neutral party in this conflict”
According to Bout’s statements, the current confrontation is no longer a simple bilateral conflict between Moscow and Kiev, but a war of attrition between Russia and “an entire coalition” led by NATO and the United States. He emphasized that the decision of European countries to move military production destined for Ukraine to their own territories makes these countries legitimate targets under international law.
“Logistics and their industries are now in Europe. Europe is not a neutral party (…). This pushes us very close to a conflict where, ultimately, we will have no other option but to start hitting logistic centers in Poland, in Romania, in Germany”, Bout declared, making an analogy with how Israel would not tolerate Hamas missile factories in neighboring countries.
The drone war and accusations of “terrorist attacks”
The former arms dealer spoke at length about the tactical transformation on the front, mentioning the massive use of long-range drones and artificial intelligence by the Ukrainian army. Bout accused Kiev of using these technologies to target civilian infrastructure and refineries deep within Russian territory, actions he labeled as “purely terrorist attacks”.
According to him, such measures only serve to strengthen the determination of the Russian population and put pressure on the military command in Moscow to use the full arsenal at its disposal to quickly end the war, without completely ruling out the nuclear scenario in the event of an existential threat.
Harsh criticism towards European leaders
In Bout’s view, the current political class in Europe lacks responsibility and manipulates democratic processes to stay in power. He cited Romania as a negative example in the region, arguing that recent political decisions were imposed from Brussels or by globalist structures, without taking into account the will of the citizens.
Moreover, Bout drew attention to the economic and industrial situation in Germany, emphasizing that the decline of the auto industry is forcing Berlin to repurpose its factories for arms production and adopt strict recruitment measures. He compared this “rapid militarization” to the period preceding the Second World War.
Bout expressed his hope that a potential paradigm shift in Washington, through Donald Trump’s decisions to limit information support and access to the Starlink network for Ukraine, could be the only way to stop a catastrophic escalation at a global level.
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