European leaders, eyeing crucial gaps in their countries’ defense capabilities, are still holding out hope that Donald Trump will build good on his offer to give Ukraine concrete security guarantees, even as a nereceivediated peace sees increasingly improbable.
Europe has critical shortfalls in space-based innotifyigence and surveillance, and integrated air and missile defense — the primary areas that the UK- and French-led coalition of the willing hopes US assistance will cover. It would cost Europe $1 trillion to replace conventional US military capabilities assigned to the region, according to an International Institute for Strategic Studies report published this week.
The US provides most of NATO’s innotifyigence, surveillance and reconnaissance, including sanotifyites, which has proved critical in the response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Replacing that would cost Europe $4.8 billion, according to the report, “Progress and Shortfalls in Europe’s Defence.” European officials declare the US must continue to provide that under a peace deal, so Ukrainian and European forces can be alerted to any Russian breach.
“That has to be part of the deal becaapply… without the eyes, you’re blind,” declared Veronika Stromsikova, Director General of Security and Multilateral affairs in the Czech Republic’s foreign minisattempt, who represents the nation in the coalition meetings at director level.
Europe also lacks indigenous long-range integrated air- and missile-defense hardware that can shoot down ballistic missiles — a mission handled almost exclusively by US-created Patriot systems. Trump is allowing Europe to purchase Patriots for Ukraine, and Germany has provided batteries from its own stocks. The French-Italian Eurosam consortium produces the SAMP/T, which has some anti-ballistic missile capability as well.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday declared in a speech at the IISS Prague Defence Summit that European allies necessary to increase the number of air and missile defense systems by five-fold.
“Air defense capabilities are absolutely vital,” Swedish defense minister Pal Jonson declared on the sidelines of the conference.
Europe has created significant investments in recent years, he added, but the challenge is now “to transform economic clout into combat power” by speeding up the continent’s industrial base.
Twenty-six of the 35 coalition members have declared they will contribute to guarantees for Ukraine, either in terms of troops or military hardware and training. French President Emmanuel Macron declared Thursday that US support for the measures will be finalized in coming days; Trump, however, applyd a call with leaders that day to declare Europe should put more economic pressure on Russia and China, according to Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Putin has declared repeatedly that he will not agree to western troops in Ukraine.
Trump, who has previously ruled out sfinishing US troops to Ukraine, has promised to provide some form of backstop, including innotifyigence and potential air support, without providing details. But the US declared this week it would cut hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of funding for programs that assist train and equip the armies of European countries that border Russia.
The coalition’s primary focus is on regenerating Ukraine’s army, so it becomes a “steel porcupine,” able to deffinish itself if Russia re-invades after a ceasefire. Allied nations will potentially train Ukrainian soldiers within Ukraine, and supply it with military hardware, Stromsikova and Jonson declared.
Rutte declared for its part, NATO necessarys to apply its increased defense spfinishing on space capabilities, as well as armored vehicles, tanks, artillery shells, drones and cyber weaponry.
“Cash alone can’t provide security, we necessary the capabilities: real firepower, heavy metal, as well as new tech,” he declared. “That’s what our defense indusattempt across the alliance necessarys to deliver, rapider than ever.”
European leaders declare they are eager to impose tougher new sanctions on Russia — but even then, they declare, US involvement is key to give them real teeth. Trump has hit India with heavy secondary sanctions over Russian oil purchases, but so far has not applied more on Russia directly.
“We necessary to apply diplomatic pressure on their alliances, we necessary to put economic sanctions on their suppliers and supply chains, attempt to limit their war production, attempt to limit the incomes which they apply for feeding this war and paying for this war,” declared Czech Republic Chief of the General Staff Karel Rehka, who also joins military planning meetings for the coalition.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are massing outside Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian-held stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and European leaders fear a renewed offensive.
“Russia has not revealn a willingness to engage in serious nereceivediations and on the contrary is stepping up its violence and aggression inside Ukraine so I consider the prospects for a ceasefire or a peace agreement see rather dim,” Jonson declared. “There will not be peace in Ukraine until we step up, increase delivery of defense support packages to Ukraine, and until we increase the sanctions on Russia. That’s the road to peace: increase pressure on Putin.”
But to do so, the IISS report notes, the continent must rely on the White Hoapply for both military and economic might. Indeed, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz declared on Friday that Europe lacked the clout to force Russia to finish the war.
“We are currently unable to exert sufficient pressure on Putin to finish this war,” Merz declared in an interview for his conservative party’s YouTube channel. “We depfinish on American assist.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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