Trump does not want to give Ukraine more aid and does not want Ukraine to join NATO - Washington Post
President Donald Trump does not want to give Ukraine any more aid, let alone US troops; he also does not want Ukraine to join NATO. As for monitoring a possible ceasefire and guaranteeing Ukraine's security - without which a ceasefire would be meaningless, given Moscow's neo-imperial ambitions - he believes that this is Europe's problem.
According to Censor.NET, Lee Hockstader, a European affairs columnist for The Washington Post, writes about this.
On the one hand, this is fair, because many Europeans consider Russia's war in Ukraine an existential threat; far fewer Americans do. So it made sense when, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Trump suggested that once a ceasefire is reached, European troops should be present in Ukraine to protect Ukrainian sovereignty by deterring future Russian attacks.
"But Trump might be sabotaging his own goal of ending a cataclysmal war now nearing its third anniversary: "He doesn’t connect the dots," Jan Techau, a German security analyst, told.
Trump is right to call on Europeans to increase spending on their militaries and take greater responsibility for their security. But what he is demanding now is out of line. Convincing Europeans to risk a direct clash with Russian forces would be the most difficult demand an American president has made of allies in decades, the observer believes.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that at least 200,000 European soldiers will be needed to deter future Russian attacks in addition to Kyiv's own forces. This is an incredibly large force that Europe cannot muster, at least for now.
"Even low-end estimates — 40,000 to 50,000 European ground troops — would severely strain countries, including Britain, whose forces have dwindled to or near historic lows," Hockstader writes.
At the same time, European officials have begun talks on creating a force to defend Ukraine. This could be a combination of British, French, Dutch, Scandinavian and Baltic troops, among others, the observer adds.
The observer also notes that Europe cannot stop the war in Ukraine on its own. And the United States cannot successfully end it without European troops. Cooperation and interdependence are key - if or when a negotiated ceasefire is reached.
"But instead of encouraging European allies and signaling that Washington will have their back, Trump is targeting them with aggression and abuse," Hockstader writes.
It is also about the brazen interference and disregard for key US allies by Elon Musk, whom European officials understandably see as a Trump confidant. Musk has been loudly promoting radical European political parties that will be most opposed to any force that will guarantee a ceasefire and protect Ukraine.
Of course, Trump has another option. Instead of seeking a ceasefire under the guarantee of European forces, he could simply leave Ukraine, cutting off military aid.
"But that could make Ukraine Trump’s Afghanistan. It would signal to China and other adversaries that Washington is weak," the observer summed up.
As a reminder, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that the Trump administration understands that it is necessary to put pressure on Russia to end the war.
