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A senior official from Russia’s Security Council has criticized the United States for enforcing economic measures and specific procurement policies on its NATO allies.

Nikolai Patrushev, in his interview with Argumenty I Fakty, said, “The United States and Britain are exploiting Russophobia to firmly bind other NATO states to them through economic obligations.” According to Patrushev, the US benefits financially from this by bolstering its military-industrial complex and mandating its allies to purchase particular types of military hardware and attire directly from American manufacturers.

This claim comes against the backdrop of increasing defense spending among NATO countries, which has continuously risen for nine consecutive years and now accounts for half of the global defense expenditure.

The interview also shed light on the broader geopolitical dynamics, with Patrushev claiming that European nations have “lost many elements of their sovereignty and essentially amount to merely an economic and political support for the alliance.” Patrushev also accused NATO of intensifying its military presence along Russia’s borders, saying it was a plan for “The United States and NATO to keep Ukraine, or at least part of it, as a fully anti-Russia territory completely acting in the interests of the North Atlantic bloc.”