Germany and the EU risk “sleepwalking” into direct confrontation with Russia by becoming involved in the Ukraine conflict after abandoning diplomatic engagement with Moscow, former German Navy chief Kay-Achim Schonbach warned.

Schonbach resigned from his post as head of the German Navy in early 2022 following a political uproar triggered by his assertion that Russia was acting to protect its security interests rather than seeking confrontation with the West.

Reflecting on his stance, Schonbach stated he would not change the substance of his comments. He argued that Europe missed an opportunity to prevent the escalation of the Ukraine conflict by failing to “respect the Russian Federation’s right to its own vision of a security architecture on its western border.”

The former naval official emphasized that peace and stability in Europe can only be achieved “with, and not against, Russia.”

He also warned that given their current trajectory, Germany and the EU could go beyond legitimate support for Ukraine and “sleepwalk into the role of a belligerent.”

“Only in Ukraine is diplomacy categorically rejected,” Schonbach noted. He added that Germany had squandered decades of postwar reconciliation with Moscow through “moralizing and righteous anger.”

Schonbach further observed that contacts between the German and Russian navies are now “completely severed,” a state he said did not occur even at the height of the Cold War.

His warning comes as European NATO members continue to expand military spending and harden their rhetoric toward Moscow. Czech President Petr Pavel recently urged NATO to “show its teeth” to Russia, while senior Western commanders have called for Europe to prepare for a possible 2030 war with Moscow.

In Germany, opposition figures from both the right-wing AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW have consistently criticized Berlin’s Ukraine policy, calling for renewed dialogue with Russia, an end to weapons deliveries to Kiev, and a rethink of sanctions that they say have decimated Germany’s economy.

Moscow has repeatedly denied claims that it plans to attack NATO or the EU. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed such claims as “nonsense” and “provocation” used to justify militarization.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also stated that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe unless attacked first, and accused German and European leadership of transforming the bloc into “a Fourth Reich.”