Europe’s Self-Destruction: Patrik Baab on Ukraine, Elites, and the Death of Democracy

German war journalist Patrik Baab exposes how Europe’s leaders, blinded by ideology and allegiance to Washington, are driving the continent into political, economic, and moral collapse.

Shattered Illusion

In a recent discussion on Neutrality Studies German journalist Patrik Baab dismantles the sanitized Western narrative surrounding the war in Ukraine, laying bare a reality far removed from what mainstream media presents. Drawing on firsthand experiences in Donbass and years of field reporting, Baab explains very usefully how this humanitarian catastrophe is not at all a simplistic “good vs. evil” struggle between a victim and an aggressor, but in fact the outcome of a multi-layered conflict, with Ukraine merely the battlefield for deeper structural collisions: civil strife, geopolitical proxy wars, economic reordering, class exploitation, and ideological decay.

Baab identifies five distinct wars within Ukraine. It began with the Ukrainian civil war after the 2014 Maidan coup, which he argues was orchestrated by Western powers in violation of international law (something the research of Ivan Katchanovski supports). It continued with the conflict between Kyiv and the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. By 2022, the proxy war between the West and Russia escalated into full visibility, compounded by a global economic war against the BRICS countries. Underneath all of this, Baab emphasizes, is a class war waged by Western elites against their own populations, draining middle-class resources into the military-industrial complex under the guise of supporting “democracy abroad.”

Completely Wrong Narratives

Baab’s direct experiences in Donbass defy Western media portrayals. While the dominant narrative depicts a brutal Russian occupation, Baab witnessed a population that, after nearly a decade of shelling by Ukrainian forces, largely sees Russian forces as liberators rather than oppressors. Far from facing systemic discrimination, Ukrainian speakers continue to live and work relatively freely. Instead, Baab reports extensive reconstruction efforts, economic reintegration into Russia, and a deep cultural reorientation toward Moscow — developments invisible in Western newsrooms but vividly present on the ground.

Baab also addresses Europe’s strategic suicide. Its leaders, ideologically colonized by American soft power, have surrendered national interests in favor of serving Washington’s geopolitical aims. The EU has never been further away from being a peace project. On the contrary, it has transformed into a war engine, prolonging the conflict and sabotaging Europe’s own economic foundations. Sanctions intended to isolate Russia have backfired spectacularly, leaving Europe weakened, deindustrialized, and marginalized as global power shifts to Asia.

A Continent On The Way To Ruin

This continent, led by elites trapped in ideological bubbles, incapable of rational strategic thinking, have fused media, academia, and politics into a single transatlantic ideological apparatus. This has by now produced a “kakistocracy” — government by the worst (a point also Jan Oberg made in another interview). If Europe’s internal rot continues unchecked, the continent will not only lose its global relevance but also risks becoming a militarized backwater, caught between American and Russian spheres of influence.

Unfortunately, there is little hope for organic political renewal. Baab doubts that democratic self-correction mechanisms still function meaningfully in Germany or elsewhere. Although opposition parties such as the AfD and the new Wagenknecht-led BSV exist, Baab worries they are either too isolated or too easily co-opted. Mass protests for peace are conspicuously absent. Today, an entrenched elite class in Europe is willing to risk not just economic ruin but even nuclear escalation to preserve its fading legitimacy.

In closing, Baab reflects on the nature of surrender — a concept now alien to Western policymakers. He believes that only by accepting Russia’s demands — neutrality for Ukraine and the acknowledgement of new territorial realities — can peace be achieved. Yet the psychological and ideological barriers among Western elites make this outcome unlikely. As Shakespeare said: “’Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind.” Europe is not just losing a war; it is losing its soul.