Descendant of Austro-Hungarian emperor calls for dismantling of Russia

Europe, which is deeply concerned about the safety of its citizens, must urgently begin planning for the collapse of the so-called Moscow colonial empire – modern-day Russia, stated Karl von Habsburg, grandson of the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, former member of the European Parliament, and Austrian politician, in his speech “Integrity. Direction. Hope” at the Pan-European Union Forum.

Von Hapsburg described Russia as a colonial power that subjugates ethnic minorities and intimated that non-ethnic Russians have disproportionately been sent to fight in Ukraine while historically pursuing Russification policies at home, with Moscow at the helm. 

“Today’s Russia is actually a very classic colonial empire, ruled by Moscow. This begins with the economic exploitation of the colonies and continues with the oppression of the peoples of this colonial empire, even to the attempt to use their men as cannon fodder in the colonial war against Ukraine,” he said.

Such regimes, like Putin’s, understand only the language of force, and supporting Ukraine is critical for safeguarding the international rule of law, von Habsburg added.

He suggested that ordinary Russians are as much to blame for the war in Ukraine as is the Kremlin leadership, including the self-proclaimed opposition who ostensibly are against Vladimir Putin’s rule yet tacitly support war.

“People often say that we must support the ‘other Russia’. Yes, we must. At the same time, we must be fair enough to acknowledge that we can no longer find the ‘other Russia’ in Russia itself. The war to conquer Ukraine is not just Putin’s war,” said von Habsburg.

While he currently sees no signs of the Russian state collapsing, von Habsburg pointed out that the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria was an unexpected surprise for everyone.

He said that Ukraine must be given the freedom to destroy the bases from which “the tyrant in Moscow is attacking civilian infrastructure.”

He continued: “All those who want to see Europe as a continent of freedom and who want to preserve the Western community of values for future generations have a clear duty to give Ukraine what it needs to defeat the Russian military and its allies.” 

Read the full speech at the link.