While Washington is showing increasingly clear signs that it wants to resolve the conflict in Ukraine at the cost of making concessions to Moscow, the task of preventing Russia’s victory and the disintegration of European unity falls on Europe. It is not just a moral responsibility – it is a strategic necessity.
The war in Ukraine has entered a phase of stalemate. Since the fall of Kherson in the autumn of 2022, the front lines have shifted marginally. As the former American president Donald Trump, who is once again at the helm of the United States, openly shows sympathy for Vladimir Putin, Kiev can no longer count on traditional support from across the Atlantic, writes Kyiv Post.
Thus, Europe – along with a potential coalition of willing states – must fill this void and become the architect of a Ukrainian victory. It is not just a matter of solidarity, but also one of the survival of the European democratic model.
Three essential steps
In order for Ukraine to tip the scales in its favor, three decisive measures are necessary:
1. Air supremacy or an air exclusion zone. The West must provide Ukraine not only with modern weapons, but also the ability to control the skies of its own country. This is not a military fantasy, but a basic requirement for the success of any offensive operation.
2. Doubling financial support. Ukraine needs an additional budget of at least $100 billion to support its military and economic efforts in 2025.
3. Confiscation of frozen Russian assets. Approximately $300 billion, held in Western accounts, can legally be redirected towards the reconstruction and defense of Ukraine. This is a necessary and legitimate measure, already supported by top international lawyers.
Past mistakes and lessons ignored
The initial delay of the European Union in 2022 and the deadlock in the American Congress in 2024 cost Ukraine precious time. Although the US provided substantial military support at the start of the war, the subsequent strategy proved disastrous: the announced counteroffensive in the summer of 2023 failed against a well-prepared and fortified Russia.
The refusal to provide Ukraine with air supremacy – due to an obsessive fear of a possible nuclear escalation – was perhaps the gravest strategic error of the Biden administration. And it cost many human lives.
But this phase of the conflict no longer resembles a 20th century trench war. In the era of drones and electronic warfare, technological advantage becomes decisive. Ukraine, with the support of its European partners, already produces drones and intelligent weapons superior to those of Russia. What is lacking is massive and consistent funding for this potential.
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