(MENAFN) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has asserted that she is the target of a Russian-supported campaign, urging Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) not to back efforts aimed at removing her from office.

This week, the EU’s leading executive faces dual challenges from factions on both the left and right within the European Parliament.

During a debate held on Monday, von der Leyen reiterated her defense from July, when she previously survived a censure vote, accusing her opponents of acting as proxies for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In her speech, von der Leyen claimed that Putin had recently "crowed about what he coined as the cracks of the edifice of Europe," adding that he was “not hiding his glee and support for all of his obedient friends in Europe who are doing his work for him.”

She described this as “the oldest trick in the book: sow division, spread disinformation, create a scapegoat, all to turn Europeans against each other,” attributing these tactics to the Kremlin’s efforts to destabilize the continent.

Last week, speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin expressed regret over what he viewed as lost opportunities for collaboration with the EU.

He criticized the bloc for increasingly abandoning its traditional values and eroding national identities.

Putin recalled that in the 1990s, then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had told him that Russia and the EU were “natural partners.”

“That is not our business – it’s an internal European debate. But if that basis of values is gone, then the Europe that we all loved will be too,” Putin commented.

He further suggested that the rising popularity of nationalist parties across Europe was a reflection of this deepening identity crisis.

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