All this thanks to Trump. Hours after President Trump announced a freeze on aid to Ukraine, pushing Washington’s goal for a peace deal with Russia, EU leaders began discussing proposals to mobilize up to $850 billion for Europe’s rearmament.
They are also planning to offer “immediate” military support to Ukraine following Washington’s aid suspension. Not only that, but European military experts are proposing to defend Ukrainian airspace with a fleet of European jets deployed outside of NATO command.
Ahead of the summit, France24 reported, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled ReArm, a sweeping EU defense initiative aimed at drastically increasing military spending and strengthening European security, including enhanced support for Ukraine.
Key to the proposals are steps to spur on defense investments by the EU’s 27 member states by easing the bloc’s strict budget rules, as well as a new $162 billion loan facility.
“Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime,” the European Commission president said in a letter to EU leaders.
“We are ready to step up,” she wrote in presenting the plan to be examined at a Thursday summit on Ukraine and European defense.
Camille Grand of the European Council on Foreign Relations told AFP: “The results will be visible more likely in weeks or months rather than ‘immediately’ but it makes a difference, since that is when the American restrictions will start to bite.”
Meanwhile, a European air force of 120 fighter jets operated separately from NATO could secure the skies from Russian attacks without provoking a wider conflict with Moscow, a new plan drawn up by military experts suggests.
“Sky Shield” would operate over uncontested areas of Ukraine to halt Russian cruise missile and drone attacks on cities and infrastructure, potentially operating as part of the “truce in the sky” proposed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this week, The Guardian newspaper reports.
It would cover Ukraine’s three operating nuclear power plants and the cities of Odesa and Lviv, but not the frontline or the east of the country, freeing up Ukrainian fighters for frontline combat.
The plan requires 120 F-16s, or equivalent aircraft – F-35, Mirage, Eurofighter Typhoon, JAS 39 Gripen – flying from European air bases.
Supporters of the plan, which include retired U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, former head of U.S. European Command and retired British army general and former deputy NATO supreme commander, Richard ShirreffIt, argue the plan could “achieve greater military, political, and socioeconomic impact than 10,000 European ground troops.”
While some are concerned that the scheme would risk placing fighters from NATO member states directly in conflict with Russia, lead to a potentially dangerous escalation if a jet from either side was shot down, backers of the plan argue the “risk to Sky Shield pilots is low” because Moscow has not sent its combat jets beyond the front lines since early 2022.
According to Sky Shield’s proponents, European jets and Russian aircraft in practice would be de facto “more than 200km (124 miles)” apart.
The bottom line, according to France24, is that a “broad consensus has emerged however on the need to significantly ramp up Europe’s military spending to bolster its defenses against Russia—a key demand from Trump’s administration towards its NATO allies.”
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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AS USUAL THE COWARDS NOW ARE READY TO SPEND SOME RESOUCES SINCE THE USA IS STANDING DOWN, WHY THE HELL HAVEN’T THEY STEPED UP BEFORE AND DONE SOMETHINF WORTH A SHIT? THEY ARE NOW WONDERING WEATHER PUTIN WANT A PICE OF THEIR ASS!!
Odd that Europe is just now getting serious about supporting Ukraine with expensive military equipment. They could have done so two years ago, but they sat back and relied on the U.S. using its funds. This also means they could be self-sufficient in paying for NATO if they had to. Time for us to take a minor financial role.