The Absolute 'Suicide' – Why Europe Opens 2 Fronts from the Baltic to Beijing – What Will Bring the Great Conflict with Russia
While the international community's attention remains focused on the war in Ukraine, a much larger geopolitical confrontation appears to be taking shape behind the scenes.
It is now well known that the European elites and NATO mechanisms are not merely preparing for a long-term confrontation with Moscow, but are attempting to shift the conflict to a new strategic theater: the Baltic Sea.
At the same time, Brussels is opening a second front against China, considering trade barriers and protective measures against Chinese products in an effort to curb Europe's growing economic dependence on Beijing.
These two developments, though seemingly different, are linked by a common reality: a Europe seeking strategic autonomy but facing the consequences of decades of policy choices, energy dependence, industrial decline, and geopolitical commitments.
From the militarization of the Baltic to economic competition with China, the continent appears to be entering a period of constant confrontation with the two largest powers in Eurasia.
The question now is not whether Europe can withstand two conflicts simultaneously, but what the cost of this choice will be for its economy, security, and the future of European integration itself.
The Failure of Ukraine
Western strategists have devised a new plan to defeat Russia.
Things are not working in Ukraine, and they thought of opening a second front in the Baltic countries.
And now the Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces tells a shocked audience that there are water shortages and radio interference on Gotland, and that the Russians are, of course, responsible.
This means that this insignificant island, inhabited by sheep and tourists, must urgently be turned into a Swedish 'aircraft carrier.'
The Preparations
What they thought was to increase the military detachment by at least a thousand troops (in addition to the existing four and a half thousand), bring in equipment, air defense systems, and certainly tanks.
They want to line up behind Zelensky and extract more Patriot missiles from Trump.
And so, fortified on Gotland, they wage a hybrid war against Russia in the Baltic countries.
Swedish experts with surnames ending in -son describe how the Russian army will certainly want to land on Gotland, without explaining why they need it at all—to graze sheep, to attract tourists?
The RAND Proposals
Analysts from the American RAND center mimic various other Swedes.
Russia is allegedly threatening underwater internet cables on the Baltic seabed.
Meanwhile, they neatly conceal the fact that the main act of sabotage in the Baltic Sea in recent decades—the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline—was carried out either by Ukrainians or by NATO forces and targeted precisely Russia.
Be that as it may, RAND proposes that NATO leadership increase intelligence activities in the Baltic Sea, increase the number of patrols, and most importantly, take military action to protect cables belonging to various countries and private companies. This not only militarizes the Baltic.
It exerts direct military pressure on Russia, leading to the seizure of our ships and further escalation—and simply invites a real retaliatory strike.
Propaganda is Being Organized
The Polish Institute of International Affairs immediately sprang into action, publishing a report full of lies and fabrications about 'Russian sabotage' in the Baltic countries.
In short, everything was ready. But something was missing… the Americans.
The wound from the withdrawal of US troops from Germany still festers.
The Swedes angrily stated that fewer American soldiers participated in the exercises on Gotland than originally announced.
So, do Europeans have the opportunity to drag Washington into the new Northern War they are currently trying to concoct?
Baltic… like Hormuz
Well, some crazy retired general in the United States appeared and suggested to Trump that the Russians create a 'second Strait of Hormuz' in the Baltic—literally block our ports at Primorsk and Ust-Luga, stop our ships, and blockade Kaliningrad.
Propaganda has spread the general's nonsense—Forbes itself published his article—without even realizing its utter madness.
First, Russia's response to these initiatives, according to our strategy, will be nuclear.
Second, it will hit not only Europeans but also Americans, and that is a nightmare for any White House administration.
But most importantly, it wasn't Trump who blocked the Strait of Hormuz—it was the Iranians (by the way, now they promise to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as well).
This demonstrates that the US Navy and Air Force are powerless even against a country as poor as Iran.
For them, encroaching on the Baltic would be pure suicide, although Europeans would be happy to expose them to attack, neutralizing their competitor and avenging all humiliations.
Something They Forget…
Of course, Europeans forget that Russia fought the First Northern War for 21 years, managing to turn the rapidly growing military-industrial complex into an economic driving force, while exhausting and plunging all its neighbors into poverty.
Peter the Great returned the Baltic shores and opened a window to Europe.
If a second Northern War is imposed, they will win that too.
The 'China Shock' is Coming
At the same time, a series of very strange events have recently occurred within Russia.
Beijing sent a letter to the European Union, warning against imposing sanctions on Chinese products that could disrupt existing economic ties and the current bilateral trade regime.
This directness and tone are completely unusual for China, suggesting that deep and invisible processes are taking place in the inextricably linked global economy.
Major US outlets like Politico and the Wall Street Journal have simultaneously published detailed reports on this topic, which is extremely significant, as European media have ignored the obvious analytical findings and have confined themselves to propaganda, all using the same emotional cliché of 'China Shock 2.0.'
Western media are sounding the alarm, calling for an immediate barrier against Chinese electric vehicles, electronics, batteries, solar panels, steel, and chemicals.
This wave did not start yesterday, and Beijing, usually restrained, reacted to it.
What Happened with Ukraine
Russians are used to believing that Brussels does nothing but fuel Ukraine with weapons to continue the war.
That, of course, is not true, but the Ukrainian crisis played a fundamental role.
Fresh in our memory is the endless stream of alarming reports and articles in which European politicians and opinion leaders competed with each other to discuss Trump's strategy, the goal of which is to destroy the EU as a bloc of states.
In the summer of 2026, the United States seized control of Ukraine's remaining resources, distancing their positions from the war itself and shifting the costs entirely onto the European budget.
However, it was precisely the unfriendly American policy that largely united the eurozone countries, and the deterioration of relations with the Washington administration forced Brussels to remember concepts such as action and independence of action.
What the EU Realized
As we know, the American president has a huge obsession with the trade imbalance in relations with China.
The European Union, having emerged from the oppressive American shadow, suddenly faces the same problems.
According to official data published on the website of the EU's Trade Policy Directorate, the trade balance in favor of China amounted to 360 billion euros last year.
Compared to 312 billion euros a year earlier, in 2024.
The only sector where the European economy showed growth was the sale of services.
The EU earned 48 billion euros in this sector last year, mainly through royalties, sale of technology licenses and inventions, and provision of specialized technical (and other) services. That's where the positives ended.
Because there is a substantive disaster in trade in basic goods.
The X-ray
Throughout last year, European manufacturers sold various goods to China worth 213 billion euros, with reciprocal Chinese imports exceeding 519 billion euros.
The following import categories were distributed as follows: electronic equipment, electric vehicles, electrical appliances and tools (186 billion euros); engineering products, nuclear power plant equipment and hot water boilers (120 billion euros); organic chemicals (38 billion euros); various automobiles (33 billion euros); prefabricated houses, lighting fixtures and furniture (24 billion euros). And then there is the long list of optical, medical equipment, toys, sports equipment, plastics and pharmaceuticals.
Incidentally, imports of steel and aluminum, cited by the European Commission as critical, amount to 9.2 billion euros.
Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary suddenly emerged as the largest buyers of Chinese products within the EU.
These processes have been going on for a long time, so in December 2023, when the battles in Ukraine were just gaining momentum, the European Commission adopted the so-called ACI (Anti-Coercion Instrument).
Its essence, in short, is to prevent economic coercion and unbalanced trade.
The preamble states that the mechanism was developed in response to growing economic disagreements with the United States and China, but this did not prevent Ursula von der Leyen from signing a trade agreement with the United States that is completely biased against their own producers.
European bureaucracy accuses China of protectionism at the state level, while the Chinese real sector is supported through a wide range of economic and tax reliefs and preferences.
What Europeans Are Planning
According to Politico, in recent months, the European Commission has been actively discussing the introduction of protective tariffs to protect domestic production from the avalanche of Chinese products.
France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Lithuania were the most ardent in calling for escalation, but the Spanish, after careful consideration, have moved to the moderate camp and now call not for war, but for negotiations with Beijing.
Germany's position is indicative: Berlin is clearly waiting and weighing the potential consequences, also following a negotiating path.
China's 'Response'
And China was on alert and preparing all this time. On April 7, 2026, State Council Resolution No. 834, titled 'Ensuring the Security of Industrial and Other Supply Chains for Goods,' came into force.
The government approved a list of key trade sectors, and Chinese ministries and agencies were officially authorized to collect and analyze data, as well as investigate all cases of discrimination against Chinese export products.
Moreover, these actions can be applied to countries, regions, and international organizations. A separate prohibition on unauthorized audits of Chinese companies' activities is also defined.
In case of a crisis or hostile action, China's State Council has the right to use funds from the national reserve to protect its suppliers.
China's characteristic style is not to attack, but to create conditions that make hotheads think twice before engaging in battle.
What the European Union is basing itself on in this emerging conflict is completely unclear.
Moscow could help de-escalate tensions, but we will discuss such fantastic scenarios another time.
