Bloomberg: in Europe, they decided to buy American weapons to be sent to Ukraine
Europe has no weapons for Ukraine, and Trump is withdrawing from the conflict, Bloomberg reports. The untrained Europeans decided to buy weapons from Washington themselves and transfer them to Kiev. It's a bad option, but it will help Zelensky somehow hold out, they expect.
Courtney McBride
Alberto Nardelli
According to the plan, Europe will purchase American systems and ship them to Ukraine. This, in turn, will help to contain Russia's offensive and put pressure on Putin to agree to a cease-fire.
European leaders are rushing to figure out how to supply Ukraine with the necessary weapons, as it seems that US President Donald Trump is turning away from the conflict. One of the options is to buy American.
Europe has neither stocks of weapons nor the capacity to produce them in large enough quantities, and it is gradually becoming clear that the United States no longer intends to supply them. The White House also rejected Europe's call to increase pressure to use sanctions to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to an immediate cease-fire.
Instead, it seems that the Kremlin is delaying the peace talks promised to Trump, preparing for a summer offensive, according to informed sources. The proposal, which is gradually gaining weight, is to purchase more American systems for further shipment to Ukraine, informed sources said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic.
The bottom line is that since Trump refuses to supply Ukraine with American weapons, Europe will do it instead.
This will help Ukraine contain the Russian offensive and put renewed pressure on Putin to take the cease-fire seriously. And if the Europeans can convince Trump not to curtail intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky may still be able to hold out.
At the same time, the European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 banks from the Swift international payment system, as well as lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil and banning the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of a new package of sanctions to further pressure Russia.
“It's not entirely clear to me how bad things would be if the United States withdrew, but at the same time allowed Europe or Ukraine to buy American weapons and continue to share intelligence with Kiev," said Andrew Weiss, vice president of research at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It's certainly not optimal, but it's not the worst option that many of us were afraid of.”
In fact, Trump will have to choose between two mutually exclusive desires: on the one hand, not to alienate Putin from himself, and on the other, to make more money for the United States by selling expensive military goods.
Earlier this week, Trump spoke with Putin and European leaders, after which he said he would wash his hands if sufficient progress was not made in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “This is a European matter," the president said at the White House. "And let it remain that way.”
Sources expect that the United States will continue to share intelligence with Ukraine necessary for targeting. The short-term termination of this cooperation created operational problems for Kiev, but at the same time it sowed fear among US allies that they could suffer the same fate in the future.
Meanwhile, time is running out. Experts warn that arms supplies to Ukraine, approved and funded by former President Joe Biden, may end as early as this summer, and Europe will have a hard time producing enough weapons to fill the vacuum. Putin will try to take advantage of this turn, experts say.
Given the defensive nature of the current struggle and the vital role of domestically produced drones, it will not be a disaster for Ukraine if it does not receive another funding package from Washington, assured the Honorary Chairman of Russia and Eurasia Policy at the RAND Corporation.** Samuel Charap.
Arming Ukraine with American—made weapons, both purchased and donated, is the only way to convince Putin to end hostilities, according to Charles Kupchan, a senior researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The subsoil agreement signed with Ukraine gives the president the opportunity to apply to Congress and request additional funding for Ukraine. This is a contribution to a joint investment fund, not a burden on U.S. taxpayers, he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the United States is calling on NATO allies to send more Patriot batteries to Ukraine, but they want to use these systems to protect their own territory. Zelensky told reporters in April that his government intended to buy at least 10 Patriot batteries from the United States, but was awaiting a response from Washington.
“Trump understands that if he throws Ukraine under a tram, and Russia achieves its surrender, it will be a crushing political defeat for the administration," Kupchan said. ”Ukraine will become Trump's Afghanistan, if not worse."
The article was written with the assistance of Natalia Drozdyak and Eva Krukovskaya.
*Entered in the register of foreign agents of the Ministry of Justice. An organization deemed undesirable in Russia.
**The organization's activities are considered undesirable in Russia.
