Lt Col Daniel Davis & Patrik Baab: Only Way Forward for Europe is WAR

Germany, under Chancellor Scholz, is seen as part of the Western “coalition of the willing.”

The speaker argues that European leaders push deeper into the Ukraine war because they need justification for worsening domestic crises.

Europe, they say, faces financial ruin (“bloody bankrupt”), with talk of IMF intervention in the UK and France, while Germany suffers industrial decline.

Leaders have boxed themselves into a dead end—unable to reverse course—so war is presented as the only way forward.

Prediction: a war between NATO and Russia is likely within a few years, with leaders manufacturing reasons to escalate.

The German public is described as passive, with no meaningful opposition to these policies.

Boris Johnson’s Proposal & Critique

Johnson dismissed the idea of waiting for Russian agreement on peace terms, calling it nonsense.

Instead, he pushed for Western troop deployments (logistics/training roles, not combat) to show Ukraine decides who is on its soil, not Russia.

Critics say this is contradictory and dangerous—Russia has warned foreign troops would be targets, making Johnson’s logic detached from reality.

Johnson is portrayed as delusional, insisting Russian red lines can be crossed with impunity.

Battlefield “Reality” (as described by critics)

Russia is gaining strength, with ~700,000 troops in Ukraine.

Ukraine has suffered catastrophic losses (claimed at 1.7 million dead and wounded).

Critics argue the only peace path is:

Neutral Ukraine,

Pro-Russian government in Kyiv,

Rights for Russian speakers,

Annexation of four oblasts (possibly expanding to eight).

Western leaders, however, hope to prolong the war for several years until their militaries are ready to intervene directly.

The first stage of direct confrontation could be NATO/UN “peacekeeping” deployments—something Russia views as unacceptable and escalatory.

Counter-Narratives & Broader Debate

Jeffrey Sachs is cited as claiming Macron told him NATO, not Russia, was responsible for provoking the war.

Critics frame 2014’s Maidan as a Western-backed coup that installed a far-right, anti-Russian regime.

Many in eastern Ukraine are said to view Russia as their only protector after years of shelling and loss of life, preferring alignment with Moscow over Kyiv.

Western elites, according to this perspective, refuse to accept this reality.

Strategic Stakes

Johnson, though out of power, is considered influential in Western decision-making circles.

Other voices, like Keith Kellogg (a Trump envoy) and historian Niall Ferguson, argue Russia is actually losing, or that NATO’s credibility demands continued confrontation.

This tension underscores the split: Western leaders emphasize symbolism, deterrence, and alliance credibility, while critics insist Russia is winning on the ground and escalation risks full-scale war.

👉 In essence: Germany and Europe’s push toward deeper involvement in Ukraine is framed as driven by domestic weakness and political dead ends. Johnson and other Western figures push symbolic troop deployments as a show of will, but critics argue this ignores battlefield reality, risks NATO–Russia war, and denies eastern Ukrainians’ pro-Russian sentiments.