European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has once again escalated her war of words against Moscow, portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin as nothing less than a “predator.” The remarks, made during a tour of EU states bordering Russia and Belarus, reflect a growing trend in Brussels: the use of heightened rhetoric and manufactured threats to justify unprecedented levels of rearmament and militarization within the European Union.

On August 29, in Riga, Latvia, von der Leyen appeared alongside Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina and delivered what many observers view as an unmistakable pitch for EU-wide defense spending. Labeling Putin as a menace intent on destabilizing Europe, she cited cyberattacks, disinformation, and even the “weaponization of migrants” as evidence of Moscow’s “hybrid war” against the West. While her speech drew applause among the Baltic leadership, it also raised concerns about whether the European Commission is leaning heavily on Cold War-era scare tactics to consolidate political and financial control over member states.

By casting Putin as a “predator,” von der Leyen deploys one of the most visceral political metaphors available-a figure that embodies danger, aggression, and inevitability. It is no coincidence that such language arrives at a time when Brussels is struggling to rally consensus around its enormous defense spending proposals. Earlier this year, the Commission chief floated a staggering €800 billion rearmament plan, financed largely through debt and tax incentives. While the final approval from the European Council stood at €150 billion, the intention is clear: the EU is entering a new........

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