Europe answers Trump's call on Ukraine
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Four years after Russia's invasion, Europe has quietly replaced the United States as the engine of Ukraine's survival.
Why it matters: President Trump and his allies have long insisted that Europe — not Washington — should shoulder the cost of the continent's largest land war since World War II.
- In 2025, European governments and institutions answered that call — surging military aid by 67% and financial and humanitarian support by 59%, according to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker.
- Over the same period, U.S. aid effectively ground to a halt — with Trump forcing NATO allies to buy American weapons and bankroll Ukraine's defense themselves.
Zoom in: Top European officials argue that this new dynamic entitles them to a seat at the negotiating table, where U.S. envoys have spent months pressing Ukraine and Russia to end the war.
- "We are spending real money, whereas the U.S. is actually making money on this war," Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said at the Munich Security Conference.
- "That gives us the right to have a voice in the arrangements and the outcomes," he said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struck a similar tone in his address, declaring that the EU — and Germany in particular — have been Ukraine's most important military backers for over a year.
- In 2025, the year European support overtook American aid, Russian forces suffered roughly 415,000 casualties, according to estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
- "We have exacted unprecedented losses and costs on Moscow. If Moscow finally agrees to peace, it will be partly thanks to this," Merz argued.
Reality check: American intelligence, sanctions enforcement and weapons sales still play an indispensable role in Ukraine's defense.
- And the White House has shown little interest in elevating Europe as a formal negotiating partner, seeing its hawkish leaders as both a nuisance and an impediment to swift peace.
- Just last year, Trump officials accused Europe of prolonging the war by allegedly urging Kyiv to hold out for a "better" deal — all while continuing to purchase Russian energy.
The big picture: The first shock to European security this decade was Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The second was Trump's return to the White House.
- Trump's intimidation of allies and threats to seize Greenland spurred a crisis at Davos last month, where NATO leaders described a "rupture" in the post-war order.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a softer tone in Munich, seeking to quell transatlantic nerves as he insisted the U.S. and Europe "belong together."
Still, as the Ukraine pivot makes clear, Europe is undergoing a profound shift in power and responsibility.
- In Munich, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Europe a "sleeping giant" whose economic and military weight far exceeds Russia's — if only it can act in concert.
- Merz quipped that Europe "has just returned from a long vacation from world history" — and is now shedding its "immaturity" as it steps into strategic adulthood.
