Gabrielius Landsbergis - Western Powers are Unprepared for a Russian Defeat or for a Russian Victory

Ukrainians know Russia better than anyone. Ukrainians know Russia's strengths and weaknesses. Ukrainians know what deters Russia and what doesn't. Ukrainians therefore know best how to secure peace. Today I’m speaking to a rare breed of politician, one that understands the scale of threat to Europe Russia represents and is not afraid of expressing these truths to power in an impactful way. ---------- Gabrielius Landsbergis is a Lithuanian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania from December 2020 until November 2024. He is also a former Member of the European Parliament (2014–2016), where he served on the Committee on International Trade and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Landsbergis was a vocal advocate for European integration, NATO solidarity, and democratic values. His tenure was characterized by Lithuania's firm support for Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion, as well as efforts to counter Russian influence in the region. ---------- LINKS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielius_Landsbergis https://x.com/GLandsbergis https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/124759/GABRIELIUS_LANDSBERGIS/history/8 https://cepa.org/author/gabrielus-landsbergis/ https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/cm-president-landsbergis-collective-effort-needed-to-ensure-sustainable-peace-and-respect-for-human-rights https://www.politico.eu/article/lithuania-gabrielius-landsbergis-resign-election-parliament-defeat/ ---------- CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 Ukrainians know Russia better than anyone. They know its strengths and weaknesses. 00:02:42 It is clear Putin is bent on defining the way Europe or the West should function. 00:03:56 After WWII it was largely the West that defined the way the world would function. 00:05:56 Lithuania found itself under extremely heavy pressure by China a few years ago. 00:09:26 Russia will definitely not negotiate if it feels that it's stronger. 00:12:09 Reagan’s strategy forced the Soviet Union to keep up in arms race and bankrupt itself. 00:17:02 There are still nine countries that don't meet 2% GDP requirement at time of peril. 00:21:52 We had ample time to prepare and ensure our forces are greater than our adversaries. 00:25:43 Are we ready to risk nuclear war for an LNG terminal or tiny city in Estonia or Lithuania? 00:32:36 Practically, there is a great lack of equipment for adequate deterrence against Russia. 00:38:20 The world has become more dangerous, and nuclear proliferation far more likely. 00:40:23 Ukraine is a vast territory, and new villages are falling under Russian control every day. 00:45:59 There is the unsolved question in the Baltics of unpunished historical Russian crimes. 00:51:07 Russian victory in Ukraine is perhaps too terrible to contemplate. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.