Europe Is Finally Spending More To Defend Ukraine – Thank Trump And The GOP

ANALYSIS – I have long argued that it is vital to help Ukraine defend itself. Not just to show that the United States and its allies can and will stand up to naked aggression (China is watching) but to ensure Russia under Vladimir Putin does not think he can go farther; the small Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) for example.

Initially, we were the only nation capable of leading the effort to arm and help Ukraine fight for its survival. And we did. Admirably.

But Joe Biden kept sending aid while also holding back what Ukraine need to achieve victory, or at least a reversal of the Russian gains. This is a stupid and unsustainable combination.

I have strongly argued that we needed a strategy and end game for Ukraine and also that we couldn’t keep writing a blank check. Meanwhile, I have constantly reiterated that the Europeans needed to start to take a leadership role in defending their own front yard.

The European Union (EU) has roughly the same population and GDP as the United States. They are more than capable of spending far more on their defense. This is something former President Donald Trump correctly noted, demanded and actually partly achieved by making some troop withdrawals and cajoling our NATO allies to step up.

Now we have a Republican House of Representatives that is rightfully refusing to keep writing that blank check for Ukraine while also demanding our own border be secured first against an ongoing invasion of illegal migrants.

And this is where it gets interesting.

European leaders may be seeing that they must spend more, and do more, for their own defense, and for Ukraine, especially before a potential Trump return to office in January 2025. So, they are now trying to agree on a €50 billion (U.S. $54 billion) aid package to Ukraine that Hungary blocked in December.

EU aid is critical as $60 billion in U.S. funding remains blocked in Congress. So, the EU is essentially trying to replace the currently blocked U.S. aid with their own; as they should.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently urged allies to provide more funding and said that a failure to do so would threaten Western security.

“If all countries put in 1% of GDP [toward aiding Ukraine], I would say the job would be done,” the Latvian Foreign Minister told reporters on Monday, reported Bloomberg. Note that the NATO goal has long been that its member states spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

Until Trump, few NATO countries ever reached that goal.

But as we can see, the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the hesitation of GOP lawmakers, and Trump, to keep fully subsidizing Europe’s defense and providing it a nuclear umbrella, is forcing Europe to wake up.

There are still some hold outs, but they are the minority.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is one vocal critic of the EU’s financial and military support for Kyiv and has maintained close ties with the Kremlin since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

As much as I like Orbán’s domestic politics in his country, I am not a fan of his pro-Putin agenda.

However, as the Financial Times reported on Sunday, the EU is playing hardball and has said it would sabotage Hungary’s economy if Budapest blocked aid at an emergency summit on Thursday, Feb. 1.

And it may be working. Orbán has signaled his readiness for a compromise allowing Ukraine’s proposed European Union aid package.

If Europe leads the way in defending itself, then we can focus more of our resources and effort on defending our interests and allies in Asia against an aggressive and dangerous China.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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