Support for Ukraine can no longer be based solely on US, - Pentagon
Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official responsible for policy matters, stated that aid to Ukraine should no longer rely solely on the United States due to limited military supplies.
According to Censor.NET, this is reported by Politico.
"Europe must step up and take primary responsibility for the continent's conventional defense. This is not a matter of choice, but a strategic necessity," he said.
It is noted that this statement came at a time when European allies, at a meeting in Germany, announced a new wave of support for Ukraine, focusing on drones, air defense, and long-range strike capabilities.
Germany has announced that it will fund additional missiles for the Patriot systems, which will be manufactured domestically, as well as IRIS-T air defense systems and long-range drones manufactured in Ukraine.
The United Kingdom has also pledged to supply 120,000 drones as part of its annual military aid package, while the Netherlands has allocated hundreds of millions of euros to develop its drone capabilities. Belgium and Spain have also announced new funding aimed at supporting air defense, artillery, and combat aviation.
The publication notes that these statements highlight both the momentum and the limits of what is possible. Although Europe’s contribution is growing, Ukraine continues to face a severe shortage of air defense systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, and production capacity is failing to keep pace with demand.
Colby emphasized that even greater efforts would be needed to bridge this gap, and called for strengthening the defense industrial base:
"Europe must place the continent's defense—and, consequently, its military support for Ukraine—on a truly sustainable footing."
What happened before?
- Russia has been demanding that the United States and Western countries halt the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
- In February 2024, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation protested against such deliveries, arguing that these weapons were being used to "kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure in the Russian Federation."
- The Kremlin recently stated that Ukraine must withdraw its troops "immediately" from the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under its control.
