The European Union’s financial backing for new U.S. weapons deliveries to Kyiv has been likened by Russia to giving lunch money to a dying man—a bizarre metaphor that reveals more about Moscow's anxieties than about Western policy.

According to Bizimyol.info, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova made the statement in response to recent comments by the EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. Referencing her remarks, Zakharova questioned Kallas’s expressed doubts about the U.S. continuing to arm Ukraine. “Is Kaja really starting to doubt something? Let us help clarify: it’s like someone gives you money for lunch, another eats it, and then dies. Right?” she wrote on her Telegram channel.

While the analogy may be clumsy, it underscores a deeper unease in the Kremlin. The recently reaffirmed U.S.-EU arms deal for Ukraine poses serious risks for Russia—ones that may soon become visible not on distant battlefields, but within Russia’s own borders. If the Biden administration follows through on its pledges, Russia could soon witness the war reach Moscow in a way that no longer feels like distant news or a movie plot. That, analysts say, could be the trigger for growing anti-Putin sentiment among urban Russians, particularly in the capital.

At the core of Putin’s fear lies a fundamental political truth: in democratic societies, leaders can be ousted over a mistake without personal catastrophe.

In authoritarian regimes, however, a single misstep can threaten a leader’s entire future—and even his life. For autocrats like Putin, how one rules determines not only the fate of the nation but the safety and comfort of life after power.

Putin understands this well. That is why he clings to support from authoritarian allies like North Korea, Venezuela, and Iran, while also watching for any geopolitical openings that figures like Donald Trump—known for his unpredictable foreign policy—might offer. But even for the Kremlin, such lifelines cannot last forever.

After all, while it may be foolish to feed a dying man, spending billions to kill others is not intelligence—it’s cruelty.

Gadir, Bizimyol.info