Wiesbaden, 27 June 2026
By Elisabeth Hellenbroich
On June 22nd, 85 years after Hitler’s armies invaded the Soviet Union began, the German Daily FAZ published a bizzare article. The article was framed by a photo that shows German Army Generalleutnant Christian Freuding – Inspector of the German Army, who having been characterized as General of the “Zeitenwende – new epoch”, is posing on top of a tank in Lithuania during a combat exercise of the newly established German Lithuania “combat unit”, that is part of the manoeuvre “Freedom Shield 1”. The German Lithuania brigade had been initiated by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Freuding is characterized by FAZ writer P. Carstens as “personified self- discipline.” He stays on the 22nd of June in Lithuania in order to inform himself about the “progress” of the German Lithuania Brigade. This involves construction of Army housing, apartments and schools for almost 4800 soldiers and their relatives, that will be stationed there till the end of 2027. What counts for Freuding is “fighting power,” the article reports. If Russia were to attack the Baltics, this tank brigade 45 would be part of the first defense lock. Together with Baltic Armed Forces and smaller NATO units of the multinational battlegroups they would fight, until reinforcing comes from the West- one still hopes this would also include from the US, Freuding states, according to FAZ. So far, every year thousands of US troops used in order to participate in big manoeuvres across Europe, also here. Not this year: A planned rotation of parts of the first Cavalry Division to Poland was abruptly stopped, at the beginning of May: A signal from Washington to Europe also to the Germans and to the Lithuanians, FAZ writes. On the other side there is Russia, the Russian motorized Rifle division, which could in case of conflict between Russia and Lithuania chose the shortest connection between Belarus and the Kaliningrad enclave, so as to cut off the Baltics and encircle it. If NATO were to lose this so called “Suwalki- Corridor”, defense would be difficult. The article in FAZ continues describing the manoeuvre and states that General Freuding has been the key coordinator of Germany’s military assistance to Ukraine. He was there more often than any other German General. On June 22nd Freuding watches the manoeuvre and discusses the short comings and mistakes that were made, as well as the effective deployment of drones with army members.
One should see the homage to this brigade, made in FAZ, in line with the statement that was given several days before this June 22nd event by the commander of the German Airforce in the British “Daily Telegraph” (June 15th) : “Germany is ready to fight tonight against Russia and will defend every inch of NATO territory”, Lt Gen Holger Neumann, the head of the German Luftwaffe stated. According to DT the Luftwaffen commander stated that “the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia and the Black Sea would suffer the wrath of NATO if it was forced to defend itself.” This sounds like a deliberate provocation toward Russia, being published shortly before the 22nd of June.
June 22nd in all of Russia is the day that is celebrated as the most important holiday every year, commemorating the loss of 27 Mio Russian people, mostly civilians; aside 6,7 Mio German soldiers. In a discussion between the Swiss Editor- in -chief from “Weltwoche”, Roger Koeppel and the well- known Russian TV reporter Vladimir Soloviev, the infamous statement by Lt Neumann was mentioned, while Koeppel also referred to a book, that was published in 1965 by the Cologne university Historian Andreas Hillgruber. The book was about Hitler’s operation Barbarossa, June 22 1941. Hillgruber, who at that time was highly contested, revealed in the book that in the long-prepared invasion, Hitler’s forces were deployed in such as way so as “to annihilate(!) the Jewish /Bolshevik conspiracy and put down the Slavic people, turning them into serfdom.”
Karaganov: In a year Russia will strike the EU
“We are indeed not far from a war” that may erupt within a year or more on European soil, Prof Sergey Karganow, a leading defense analyst from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and former advisor to several Russian presidents, stated. In an interview with a well-known Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko (right now living outside of Ukraine after having been investigated by SBU for “high treason”), Karaganov warns that we may be just be a year away from a major conflict between Russia and Europe. He adds that the EU is playing with fire, by pushing like mad the integration of Ukraine into the EU. It would mean that a country at war with Russia would de facto draw Europa into the war conflict with unforeseeable consequence including the potential for nuclear escalation.
Panchenko presents Karaganov as a man whom Putin once called “a frightening man”. A man who argues that “Russia needs to carry out a nuclear against the West. Do you want to wipe us all out?” Panchenko asks him.
Prof. Sergei Karaganov emphasizes that “I have never suggested launching a nuclear strike on the West, but when I said that we might have to launch one- which I hope we won’t- I was raising that possibility only in order to prevent this terrible war and bring it to an end, the war that the West imposed on us (!), which it is waging against us in Ukraine and which is destroying millions of Ukrainians and tens of thousands of Russians.- (…) It was precisely in order to restore fear of nuclear weapons, that I raise the possibility of nuclear strike, in order to end this war that the West is waging against us in Ukraine. I absolutely do not want these nuclear weapons to be used. I am being critical, saying that the Russian leadership should be ready for the limited use of nuclear weapons naturally against targets in hostile European countries.”
In respect to US- Russia relations, Karaganov states that “we are completely different!… We have no need for close relations with the US. What we need is normal, proper, calm relations. And I believe the overall goal for Russian policy is to create conditions in which the US can with dignity, retreat to the Western Hemisphere.” Karaganov states that Europeans have been cut from us- in Russia, that it’s not only Russia under sanctions. Europeans are forbidden to communicate with Russians…. “This is a kind of moral preparation for war.” Hence, he would advise Europeans to remove those “puppets from power.”
In respect to the Russian attack against Kyiv February 2022, Karaganov emphasizes that “Russia made a great many mistakes! One of the biggest was, that we didn’t use our nuclear potential, at least politically. From the very start its should have been used politically. Politically yes. We wrote various documents about the escalation ladder and what it should look like. We should have conducted exercises and nuclear tests… Now, we have finally begun providing nuclear warheads for the missiles stationed in Belarus, as well as to many other delivery systems. These are, among other things, steps on the escalation ladder. Let us hope these steps will be understood before the point comes when we have to go further and to actually use this weapon.”
In respect to President Putin ,Karaganov qualifies him as being “a subtle, very intelligent person. I follow closely how he’s evolving. In many ways. I admire him, but he is indecisive, not decisive enough.”
He strongly criticizes that “unfortunately self- deception took hold in Russia. The idea that we were one people, and in fact we’re not one people for another very a clear reason as well. Russians, the Russian people as you know. We are a ‘multiethnic’ people. We have no racism, no chauvinism. We’re very culturally open.” Being asked what should happen to Ukraine he emphasizes: “The best outcome would be for the southern and eastern regions to join Russia. As for everything else, let it be what it will be. Ideally the remainder should be a neutral zone.”
Being asked how much longer he thinks the war in Ukraine will last, Karaganov replies “that it could last a very long time. But I hope and I stand by it, that we move rapidly the escalation ladder and begin delivering much harsher strikes not only against opponents in Ukraine, but also against a number of European countries.”
What would he say to those who watch this? Karaganov: “Stop the war. We do not need your territory, except for certain territories that will become part of Russia.”
He adds that it all could have been “avoided” because “what is happening now is partly our fault(!) as well. At a certain point, our elite became obsessed with ‘economism.’ For us, it was about money. It was a horrible, shameful aberration of our elite. It is the disgrace of Russia. I hope we are getting rid of that disgrace.”
Furthermore, he criticized that “as result of getting bogged down in this war, we did not act decisively enough”, and we “directed all our intellectual, political and economic resources toward fighting the West. One of the reasons, we were drawn into this war was to weaken our international influence, and that has party succeeded.”
His advice to President Putin is to act “more decisively. To move resolutely up the ladder of escalation in the hope that we will not be forced still to use nuclear weapons. But I also call on him to be ready to use nuclear weapons and to prepare our armed forces and out country for that.” This warning comes from a man who used to be in the inner advisor’s circle of Putin. What he tells sounds “extreme.” But, he nonetheless, according to the US strategic expert Mearsheimer and the British strategic expert Alastair Crooke, “should be taken seriously.”
How can peace still be made possible?
In May of this year 2026 a new book by Erich Vad /Klaus von Dohnanyi, entitled: “Peace -how can this be made?”, was published by the Frankfurt based publishing house Westend. This book is written in form of a dialogue between these two excellent analysts: German General Erich Vad- former military advisor to Chancellor A. Merkel- who wrote his dissertation on von Clausewitz and by Klaus von Dohnanyi (98 years old!) former science Minister under SPD Chancellor H. Schmidt, and former mayor of Hamburg- who comes from a well- known -originally Hungarian family. Dohnanyis father and his uncle, both being staunch resistance fighters against the Nazis, were killed by the Nazis.
Von Dohnanyi adamantly stresses that a firm Anglo- American control grip was imposed on Germany after the second World War. Given the abysmal situation of the German elite and their incompetence, he demands, that above all we need to have adequate personalities in German politics, in order to create a “European peace architecture.” Both General Vad and K.von Dohnanyi push the idea that we must push for a peace order, and that the USA, China and Russia should be part of such a peace order. They also underline that at the moment the Europeans play no role, as one can see in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine war – a proxy war between the US and Russia
The dilemma of Europe, as General Vad explains, has to do with the issue of “Geopolitics: What we are dealing with today,” according to Vad, “is based on the determination to push through one’s own interests. He refers as an example to the US operations in Venezuela or in the Mideast, where US geopolitical interests center primarily on oil.” It is “Canon boat policy”, i.e. “geopolitics and strategic interests determine security today.” Vad further qualifies the Ukraine war as a “proxy war” between the USA and Russia! Both since long have already split the country among themselves, while Iran can’t be militarily conquered. Von Dohnanyi refers to the US Monroe doctrine from 1823. which is s today key “to define the US sphere of influence in Latin America and in the Caribic”. The invasion in Ukraine, after Budapest Memo (1994) was a war that broke international law, like the war of NATO against Serbia 1999, the war of US against Iraq 2003 or US Air attacks and Israels air attacks against Iran. In all these wars, international law was “re- interpreted” by the world powers. “From a Russian point of view Murmansk, Kaliningrad and Crimea as well as the access to Black Sea are strategic pillars of their defense dispositive”, according to Vad. “The West should furthermore also take into account that Russia is great power, the strongest nuclear power in the world and that a collapse of a multiethnic nation like Russia, cannot be in the interest of the West.”
He underlined at one point that he is grateful to President Trump for having laid open, that the security interests of the USA always were and are “dominance” and “pushing through US interests.” “In the present National Security Doctrine of the US (2026) reference is made to the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ in respect to the Western Hemisphere. They pushed this through in Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland and in the Mideast Iran.” According to Vad “the Europeans should define their own Monroe doctrine but we are far away from it.”
Zelensky desperate to draw Germany and Europe into war with Russia
Both von Dohnanyi and General Vad warn (very similar to the constant warning given by of German General and former NATO commission chairman, Gen Kujat), that “Zelensky tries to draw us into this war with Russia. First, it was NATO, then the weapons that brought this danger, and now it’s the idea to push Ukraine on short term basis into the EU. It should be known that this would mean that the EU would get involved into the war of Ukraine! When NATO expanded, it was clearly stated that no new member should import its insecurity and future conflicts with Russia into this.”
They also underline that “from an American point of view, the situation is perfect: They import the Russian problem to Europe, weakening China and Russia, by binding their forces.” Von Dohanyi adds that this exactly corresponds to the Wolfowitz doctrine, whereby from a US point of view, Germany should not have positive relations with Russia.” (!)
General Vad adds that “if war were to expand in Europe, the US would intervene, but Germany would become ‘deployment zone’, the logistical hub for NATO – and get under the wheels”. British policy also has always been extremely bellicose vis a vis Germany. This refers to the 23. 10. 2024 defense agreement between Germany and GB – that is based on the core concept of developing “long range drone systems” of which GB delivered 120.000 to Ukraine, carrying them into the depth of Russia, which also German politicians want. The agreement also includes drone production sites in Germany.
General Vad warned that “If we continue along this military logic, with our sanctions and weapon deliveries and go ahead with more weapon deliveries, this will bring us directly into a European war.” While Klaus von Dohnanyi underlined that “following Zelensky’s political logic, will mean conflict with Russia, …So it is the aim of Zelensky to draw us closer into war.” Vad added to this that from a US point of view, “a war between Europe and Russia would be a tolerable option, from a German point of view it would be fatal. Since the 30 years war we have that problem of foreign powers fighting on German soil, where half of the population perished.”
According to General Vad Germany is committing a huge mistake, by having given up its technology partnership with Russia, while parallel the US is making economic agreements with Russia.. One should remember that the infamous explosion of the North Stream pipeline meant a 20 Bn Euro damage cost for Germany. But Zelensky is still celebrated like a hero in Europe.
Both Vad and von Dohnanyi warn that in order to build a more self – conscious Europe we should, aside building dialogue with Russia, also get rid of a certain amount of “strategic illusions”, especially in respect to the US. Among them, according to Vad, there is the idea, that Europe has a nuclear guarantee from the US. “This umbrella never existed and will never exist. (…) The Americans will never go all in for Europe. ( …) We never had an American umbrella, never after 1945 or after the deployment of nuclear bombs did Germany have any nuclear protection from America. Therefore, the Cold War was highly problematic for Germany since in case of a failed deterrence, the potential battlefield would have been Germany!”
Hence, “we must urgently change our foreign and security policy. Since Clausewitz its clear: Policy does not produce war, it leads into war, prepares war, steers through war and creates a way out of war into peace! We need leaders that are competent and able to get things in motion, that create peace. You need strong characters, willing to take a risk, But I don’t see this at this point in Europe. I am not a pacifist but I have something against wars, that could be avoided. For me the Ukraine war was avoidable. That’s also what Trump thinks. (..)
He underlines at the end that “whoever remains in the position of self -fulfilling prophecy of an un- avoidable war with Russia, will end up in war. It’s very similar to what happened 1914 with the first world war, with the difference that then the war euphoria was huge in Germany and Europe: Today I see the way into the war at the side of our elites. The people don’t want this. The first and second World War was a strategic illusion which led to the end of Germany.”
