Varoufakis Blasts Europe’s Mishandling of Russia-Ukraine War

(MENAFN) Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister and leader of the Democracy in Europe Movement, delivered a scathing indictment of Europe's handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict during an appearance at the TOLK.PRO forum in Moscow, branding the continent's approach a failure of fundamental reasoning.

"The situation with Russia, with Ukraine, and in this region—it has devastating consequences for peace and security on the continent and globally. And above all, of course, it's devastating for peace in both Europe and Russia. It's a crime against logic," he said.

Pivoting from European failures to the intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing, Varoufakis painted a stark picture of American industrial decline. The United States, he argued, has watched its manufacturing backbone hollow out to near extinction — no longer capable of producing trains or nuclear-powered icebreakers — while Chinese technology giants have comprehensively surpassed their American counterparts in scale, innovation, and global reach.

Varoufakis reserved particular attention for China's digital yuan, highlighting how Beijing has achieved a sophisticated integration of financial systems with cloud infrastructure through its central bank digital currency — a structural advantage, he argued, that renders the Chinese economic model measurably more efficient than its Western rivals.

The Greek economist commands unusual celebrity status in Russia, where his profile has recently transcended political circles and entered mainstream pop culture. A track by Moscow-based DJ Sasha Melior, built around the repeated chanting of his name, has achieved near-ubiquitous status among Russian Gen Z audiences. In a moment that underscored his crossover appeal, Varoufakis took the TOLK.PRO stage to that very song.

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