Even as they side with Volodymyr Zelensky after his Oval Office clash with Donald Trump, European leaders' approach to the war in Ukraine and the continent's security remains largely dependent on the president of the United States.
Despite sympathy for Zelensky and European anger over Trump's treatment of him, they see no way to bring peace to Ukraine or protect Europe from Russia without American support, Reuters reports.
Such a stance reflects a harsh reality for Europeans - American military power is incomparably stronger than anything they can provide, even as they busily increase defense spending and promise to take greater responsibility for their own security.
Whether Europeans can still count on that power to come to their aid, as has been the case for decades, is an existential question not only for Ukraine, but also for the security of the continent and the NATO alliance.
Even after Trump publicly berated the Ukrainian president, European leaders are essentially sticking to the strategy they have pursued since the US president began his second term. The same applies to Ukraine and wider European security: they are trying to maintain US engagement while strengthening their own efforts, the British agency reports.
"Do we consider Volodymyr Zelensky an important resistance fighter, a hero? The answer is yes. Should we judge or moralize? Then the answer is no," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told RTL radio.
The European strategy was presented at a leaders' meeting in London on Sunday and is likely to be the focus again at a European Union summit on Ukraine and defense on Thursday in Brussels.
Leaders, including NATO chief Mark Rutte, urged Zelensky to find a way to restore relations with Trump.
Even as he declared that Europe was ready to take on the "main burden" when it came to security guarantees for Ukraine after a peace deal, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that they would need "strong US support", which Trump has so far failed to promise.
Some doubt that such a strategy has much chance of success, given Trump's relationship with Zelensky and his quick moves to improve US relations with Russia.
“It seems to me that many still haven’t fully accepted the fact that Trump simply doesn’t want to play the role that Europeans want him to play,” said Jana Puljerin, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “No strong US support will materialize,” she wrote on X Network in a comment on Starmer’s statement.
Still, European officials feel they have no alternative but to keep trying, even though some are privately furious about Trump's treatment of Zelensky.
Friedrich Merz, a conservative who is expected to take over as chancellor soon, suggested that the Oval Office clash on Friday was a pre-arranged trap for the Ukrainian leader.
“This was not a spontaneous reaction to Zelensky’s interventions, but an obviously planned escalation,” he said. “We must now show that we are able to act independently in Europe,” he added.
One senior official said after the clash: “Donald Trump has to decide whether he wants to be called the leader of the free world or the leader of a blackmail gang. The latter is not interesting to Europe.”
Another official called the episode "shameful," while one northern European official described it as "a complete disgrace."
However, Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to the US, said that Ukrainian-US relations must be reset, as Trump's initiative to end the war is "the only option on the table."
White House National Security Adviser Mike Walz, asked about Europe's weekend actions in support of Zelensky, told reporters: "We welcome Europe engaging with Europe, but they also need to invest in the capabilities to do that." Speaking to Fox News, Walz said Zelensky should apologize.
“What we want to hear from President Zelensky is that he is sorry for what happened, that he is ready to sign the minerals agreement and that he is ready to engage in peace negotiations,” he said. “I don’t think we are asking for too much. We will see what happens in the next 48 hours, but we certainly want to move forward in a positive way.”
Reuters estimates that for Ukraine's European allies, one of the burning questions is whether American weapons deliveries, approved during the Biden administration, will continue to arrive.
According to NATO data, the United States provided more than 2024 billion euros in security assistance to Ukraine in 20 - accounting for more than 40% of the total aid Kiev received.
America's support for Ukraine goes beyond ammunition and weapons, from artillery shells to air defense systems. The US also provides intelligence, training, and other assistance that the Europeans would be hard-pressed to replace.
In the long term, European leaders are stressing that any military contingent they send to Ukraine to defend the peace agreement would have to have the support of their nuclear-armed ally, although Washington has made it clear that it will not deploy troops inside Ukraine.
This would mean that American forces would have to be ready to intervene to protect European troops if they were attacked by Russia.
“The Russians need to know that they will be accountable not only to the Europeans on the ground, but also to the United States,” Mendelson told ABC News on Sunday.
Europe's dependence on the US is even greater when it comes to its own defense within the NATO alliance, writes Reuters.
Tens of thousands of American troops are deployed in bases across the continent, and the US provides a range of military capabilities that Europe cannot currently match - from mid-air refueling to a vast nuclear umbrella.
For now, Europeans are finding solace in the Trump administration's statements that it remains committed to NATO. But they say NATO will have to change significantly, with a much greater role for Europe.
“We know that we are expected to take greater responsibility for Europe's security, and we must be ready for that,” said one senior European official.
European leaders have agreed they must increase defense spending to show Trump that the continent can protect itself. The European Union will hold an emergency summit on Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would inform member states today about plans to strengthen Europe's defense industry and the EU's military capabilities. "We need a massive defense boost, without a doubt. We want lasting peace, but lasting peace can only be built on strength, and strength starts with strengthening ourselves."
However, Viktor Orban, the pro-Moscow Hungarian prime minister, criticized the London summit, saying that European leaders “decided… that they want to continue the war instead of choosing peace,” describing their approach as “bad, dangerous and wrong.”
Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are likely to challenge, and possibly veto, the conclusions of an emergency EU summit on Thursday, which will discuss support for Ukraine, European security guarantees and ways to finance European defense needs.
Several options for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine
Britain said yesterday that there were several possible proposals for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, after France put forward a proposal for an initial one-month truce that could pave the way for peace talks.
“There are obviously a number of options on the table,” said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “I will not comment on those options.”
French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of a month-long ceasefire over the weekend, although it has so far failed to gain public support from other allies.
"Such a ceasefire, which would cover air, naval and energy infrastructure, would allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is really acting in good faith when he commits to a ceasefire," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said of Macron's proposal.
"And only then could real peace negotiations begin."
European ground troops would only be deployed in Ukraine in the second phase, Macron said in an interview published in the newspaper "Figaro".
Asked if he was aware of the plan Macron mentioned, Zelensky told reporters in London: "I am aware of everything."
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, but say they would like US support for this, which is called a "protective guarantee".
Zelensky insists that the ceasefire must be accompanied by explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and currently holds about 20% of its territory, does not attack again. Trump has refused to provide any such guarantees.
The Kremlin, which has rejected the idea of any Western troop presence in Ukraine, said yesterday that the summit's results would allow for "the continuation of hostilities," adding that Zelensky must be forced to change his position and seek peace.
Zelensky said yesterday that he would work with Europe on the terms of a possible peace agreement to be presented to the US.
Zelensky, according to the Associated Press, also said that an agreement to end the war between Ukraine and Russia is “still very, very far away,” and believes that relations with the United States will continue despite his conflict with Trump. “I think our relations (with the United States) will continue, because this is not a temporary relationship,” Zelensky said late Sunday, referring to Washington’s support during the past three years of war.
However, Trump yesterday reacted to the Ukrainian president's comment that an agreement to end the war was far away, declaring that "America will not tolerate this for much longer." In a post on the Truth Social platform, where he shared a news story in which Zelensky was quoted as saying that the end of the war was "very, very far away," Trump wrote: "This is the worst statement Zelensky could have made." "That's exactly what I was saying - this man does not want peace as long as he has America's support. And Europe made it clear in its meeting with Zelensky that it cannot do the job without the United States."
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