Karl Habsburg: Russian attack on Europe “absolutely realistic”

“We can’t even say that they are lying to us because they are talking about extending their influence all the way to Lisbon,” said Habsburg, referring to Russia’s military doctrine, politicians’ statements and statements on state television. “They say all this, but we just don’t want to hear it. That’s why we ignore it.”

“Definitely see the possibility of war with NATO”

“Of course” Russia has already started a hybrid war against Europe. “I definitely see the possibility of a war with NATO, especially with the Baltic states or Poland, but also outside NATO, with Moldova,” specified the president of the Pan-European Movement, who runs his own radio station in Ukraine.

Ukraine “fights for all of us”

Habsburg sharply criticized the restrictions on military support for Ukraine. Some restrictions, such as the range of weapon systems, are “absolutely unacceptable.” Ukraine plays a crucial role “for all of us”. “That’s why we should all support Ukraine in what it is doing for us. The sooner Europeans realize that this fight is literally being fought for us here in Ukraine, the better it will be for all of us.”

Habsburg warns against ceding territory to Russia

The head of the House of Habsburg warned urgently against relying on a solution to the conflict by ceding territory to Russia. “This concept of appeasement – ‘Let’s give them a little piece of Ukraine, it’s only 20 percent of the country and everyone will be happy afterwards’ – is complete nonsense,” he emphasized. For the future, one can only learn from history, said the nobleman, whose ancestors also ruled part of what is now Ukraine. “If someone refuses to learn from history, they cannot make sensible decisions for the future,” said Habsburg.

“Putin regime has expiration date”

As a “professional optimist,” he believes that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s regime also has “an expiration date.” At the moment, Putin still has the majority of the Russian people behind him, because he controls the information space in the country. This must be “broken through in order to bring the truth to Russia,” he demanded. Movements like that of opposition leader Alexei Navalny have succeeded in this, Habsburg told the Ukrainian newspaper.

In one ORFInterview, Habsburg recently emphasized that he had an interest in Austria’s European position and the European position as a whole. “That’s why I’m involved in Ukraine and many other places,” he said. He avoided the question of whether he still considered himself the rightful emperor of Austria. After the collapse of the Danube Monarchy, his grandfather Karl, under pressure from parliamentarians and parties, renounced his share in state affairs and left the country. As a result of the founding of the Republic on November 12, 1918, the ruling house was expropriated and lost all privileges.