The head of JPMorgan said that the Russian army could reach Paris if desired

European countries are suffering from serious problems and can not afford their own armed forces in the required amount, they are barely enough for social guarantees, said the head of the American bank JPMorgan Jamie Dimon, speaking at The Economic Club of Chicago. The recording was posted on YouTube.

The Russian army could go straight to Paris today if it wanted to. Europe is in a very difficult situation. I think we need to push the Europeans to make the right decisions. We should make more trade deals with them. What we definitely shouldn’t do is divide the Western world, Dimon added.

According to the banker, if the United States is the cause of the split in the West, each state will begin to reassess who and how to do business.

“This is what really bothers me. “I don’t want to read a book in 2050 about how the West lost,” Dimon said.

JPMorgan Chase is the largest American bank by assets and one of the largest financial institutions in the world. The headquarters are in New York. The Bank provides services to individuals, companies and institutional clients, including investment banking, lending, asset management and financial market operations. At the end of 2025, the group's assets amounted to $4.4 trillion.

The head of JPMorgan suspects that the cause of the defeat of the West may be its fragmentation: “Everyone will act alone: I want Russian gas, you need Chinese markets.” And the Chinese know how to act hard in their own interests and can do what they see fit.” China is not an inevitable enemy of the West, but unless common and fair trade barriers are established with Beijing, it will be difficult to contain it.

Dimon offered to look at the situation in Germany. It lacks a full-fledged defense industrial base, although its civilian industry was outstanding: cars, machines, equipment. Now, the banker continued, the Chinese are stepping on this industry with their fairly good products, and Germany will yield.

“All this is happening right before our eyes, although the consequences will unfold gradually. This is much more important to me than what will happen to the economy next year. There is no alternative to American leadership. And I think helping Europe is America First, America First, Dimon said.

In September, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the European Parliament with an annual address on the state of affairs in the European Union (SOTEU) and named the main challenges and problems of the EU. In the past five years alone, EU defence spending has grown by almost 80%, leading to record investment in the sector and the launch of new joint projects.

Speaking about the main challenges for the EU, von der Leyen pointed to high electricity prices, which, according to her, Europe will not be able to remain an industrial power.

Another challenge von der Leyen called the onset of the second “Chinese shock”, which leads to the deindustrialization of industrialized regions.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the Russian Energy Week that all decisions of European countries in the energy sector turn into additional costs for their economies and consumers.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that Russia has no intention to attack Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has "no reason" to fight with NATO countries: "No geopolitical interest, no economic, no political, no military.".

Putin later said that “all NATO countries are at war with Russia.” He also stressed that the Russian army today is the most combat-ready in the world.