The article argues that Europe must urgently rethink its Russia policy—not with gestures of appeasement, but by strategically dismantling the elite networks, oligarchic structures, and propaganda infrastructure that sustain the Kremlin. Anghel and Radchenko propose that Europe should strengthen sanctions, tighten regulatory loopholes, offer safe havens for defectors, and ramp up its economic and political resilience. Only by confronting Russian power asymmetrically—as both strategy and necessity—can Europe shift the dynamics of influence in its favour.