Donald Trump can’t see the “bigger picture” on Ukraine and Europe could step up to take over funding the fight against Europe, a top Eurocrat says, as Zelensky calls for Western troops to “force Russia into peace”.
Ukraine’s Western backers are meeting in Germany at the major U.S.-NATO Ramstein airbase on Thursday through the Ukraine Defence Contract Group, President Volodymyr Zelensky having arrived at the base this morning. Per Ukrainian state media, he is due to have group meetings through the forum as well as individual talks with other leaders during the summit.
Meetings had barely begun, however, when President Zelensky launched immediately into turning up the heat, telling partners now is the time to start making deploying Western forces to Ukraine a possibility. He told the Ramstein meeting, AFP states that Ukraine’s goal is to “find as many instruments as possible to force Russia into peace” and that “deployment of partners’ contingents is one of the best instruments… Let’s be more practical in making it possible”.
While some European leaders believe — and even fear — the beginning of the second Trump White House later this month will herald the beginning of the end for the Ukraine war, Zelensky made his pitch for receiving even more American assistance. He said: “It’s clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world –- just 11 days from now, a time when we have to cooperate even more, rely on one another even more, and achieve even greater results together… I see this as a time of opportunities.”
Whether these remarks are a reflection of reality as perceived by Zelensky or an expression of optimistic hope — which has been marked as a Ukrainian negotiating tactic several times in the past — is unclear. The AFP news agency also notes it was not made explicit if Zelensky’s call for Western boots on the ground was meant to be interpreted as combat troops to fight Russia, or peacekeepers as has been previously discussed.
Europe’s chief diplomat, the former Estonian Prime Minister and now top European Commissioner Kaja Kallas also struck a hopeful note in her remarks at the meeting, but said ultimately the European Union would step in if the United States decided it has already invested enough money in Kyiv. She said: I’m really sure that all the other members, and hopefully also the United States, are ready to continue with the support to Ukraine… the European Union is also ready to take over this leadership if the United States is not willing to do so”.
Yet the diplomat was less diplomatic in comments directed at once and future President Trump, when she tacitly implied simple ignorance was the major factor behind him wanting to get the Ukraine war concluded. She said: “[it] is not in the interest of America that Russia will be the strongest force in the world… So I’m sure that [when] the leadership takes office, they can also see the bigger picture”.
The Pentagon said on Thursday that it was on a roadmap for capability building for Ukraine through to 2027, and that the United States was announcing a further $500 million in support for Ukraine. This package would help fund Ukraine’s most urgent needs, they said, which were cited as including “missiles for air defense; air-to-ground munitions; and equipment to support Ukraine’s use of F-16s”.