French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are planning to involve the United States in their strategy for defending Ukraine, reports Politeka.net.
However, according to The Telegraph analyst Daniel DePetris, even with promises to increase defense spending, Europe’s ability to address the Ukrainian issue independently is highly questionable.
Since the start of the war, European countries have allocated nearly 62 billion euros to arm Ukrainian forces. Nevertheless, DePetris asserts that the challenge of deploying troops in Ukraine and ensuring its defense will become much larger and significantly more expensive, as reported by Politeka.
A crucial element for effectively defending Ukraine is support from the United States, particularly in the areas of air power, intelligence, and air defense. However, the Trump administration is likely not prepared to take on these commitments.
"Remove the U.S. from the equation, and European support forces in Ukraine risk becoming almost dangerously problematic... Washington's NATO allies in Europe remain heavily dependent on the U.S., including, among other things, long-range strike capabilities, command and control, as well as satellite communications," the expert writes.
Another important aspect is the personnel issues. Europe has about one and a half million military personnel, but the distribution of these forces among various NATO tasks may complicate their involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
Source: telegraph.