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EU defense spending nearing pre-World War II levels, Russian diplomat says

Russia’s envoy to the Vienna talks on military security said EU defense spending in several member states is nearing pre-World War II levels, citing an EU goal of 'defense readiness' by 2030. She also said EU countries are preparing infrastructure for a large-scale conflict, including in the Netherlands. EU defense spending rose by 20% in 2025 to 418 billion euros, according to the European Defense Agency.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 2–15, 2026 Published Aug 15

Overview

A Russian diplomat told the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation that European Union defense spending in several member states is approaching levels not seen since before World War II, and that EU countries are preparing their infrastructure for a large-scale military conflict.

Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, spoke at a regular meeting of the forum, according to reports from the Russian state news agency TASS.

Defense spending and the 'European Defense Union'

Zhdanova said that Brussels has set the goal of building a 'European Defense Union' and achieving so-called 'defense readiness' by 2030, which involves developing capabilities EU member states need 'to conduct modern warfare.' She said such rhetoric is accompanied by unprecedented investment in the defense industry.

"According to various estimates, planned defense-industrial spending in some member states is approaching the levels seen on the eve of World War II," she said.

Separately, the European Defense Agency (EDA) reported that EU military spending rose by 20% in 2025, significantly exceeding its forecasts. According to EDA data, defense expenditure by EU member states reached 418 billion euros in 2025, a 20% increase from the previous year. The agency's report said member states are increasing defense spending faster than projected.

Infrastructure preparation and the Netherlands

Zhdanova also highlighted what she called the consistent preparation of Western states to operate in conditions of a large-scale armed conflict. She said attention is being paid to adapting civilian transport and logistics infrastructure to the tasks of military planning and operational mobility.

She cited the Netherlands as an example, saying the country announced last month that it had completed four logistics research programs. She added that Dutch authorities are considering legislating the right to interfere in the work of private enterprises to force them to fulfill military orders, and that this is not the only example.

Context

The EDA report was released ahead of a NATO summit set to be held in Ankara, Turkey, where allies will seek to persuade US President Donald Trump to maintain a strong US presence in the bloc, citing rising European military expenditures, according to TASS.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC

Framing: EU military spending increase — Informative

Facts Included:

The European Union’s military spending rose by 20% in 2025
Defense expenditure by EU member states reached 418 billion euros in 2025
The increase significantly exceeded forecasts by the European Defense Agency (EDA)

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC

Framing: EU defense spending compared to World War II — Critical

Facts Included:

Defense spending in several EU countries is approaching the levels seen on the eve of World War II
EU's goal of building a 'European Defense Union' and achieving 'defense readiness' by 2030
Unprecedented investment in the defense industry

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 7:00 PM UTC

Framing: EU preparing for large-scale military conflict — Alarmist

Facts Included:

EU countries are preparing their infrastructure for a large-scale military conflict
Adapting civilian transport and logistics infrastructure to military planning and operational mobility
Dutch authorities considering legislating the right to interfere in private enterprises

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe European Union’s military spending rose by 20% in 2025, significantly exceeding forecasts by the European Defense Agency (EDA).	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimDefense expenditure by EU member states reached 418 billion euros in 2025.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 2, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimDefense spending in several EU countries is approaching the levels seen on the eve of World War II.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe EU has set the goal of building a 'European Defense Union' and achieving 'defense readiness' by 2030.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC
ClaimEU countries are preparing their infrastructure for a large-scale military conflict.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 7:00 PM UTC
ClaimThe Dutch authorities are considering legislating the right to interfere in the work of private enterprises to force them to fulfill military orders.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 15, 2026, 7:00 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 3 articles consulted: TASS — English 6 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15