European leaders shocked at the Trump administration's erosion of U.S. security guarantees for Europe in favor of Putin's expansionist Russia pledged to "urgently rearm" the continent and turn Ukraine into a fortress.
At an emergency summit in London on Sunday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe is at "a crossroads in history" and must form a “coalition of the willing” – a pointed reminder of European support for the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq – to secure the continent including Ukraine.
“One thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe, it will wash up on our shores,” he said at the summit attended by 19 leaders.
The summit explored options for ending Russia's war in Ukraine in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's bruising Oval Office encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump that ended talks on a minerals-for-aid deal.
" Through my discussions over recent days, we've agreed that the U.K., France and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting," Starmer told a press conference on Sunday. "Then we'll discuss that plan with the United States. And take it forward together."
Europe has overtaken the United States in terms of Ukraine aid, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker at Germany's Kiel Institute. Europe has allocated €70 billion in financial and humanitarian aid plus €62 billion in military aid, it said, while the U.S. has provided Ukraine with €64 billion in military aid and €50 billion in financial and humanitarian assistance.
E.U. emergency summit planned for later this week
Starmer called on Europe to do the "heavy lifting" of finding a lasting peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, but emphasized that "this effort must have strong U.S. backing."
He pledged the United Kingdom will boost support for Ukraine, including a loan of 2.26 billion British pounds ($2.84 billion) from profits on frozen Russian assets. Ukraine will also be given access to U.K. export financing worth 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) to buy 5,000 air defense missiles.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for "comprehensive security guarantees" for Ukraine that can ensure a potential peace agreement and deter future Russian aggression.
"We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength – that is has the means to fortify and protect itself, from the economic survival to the military resilience," she told reporters as the summit ended. "It's basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders."
She is expected to present a new plan to dramatically boost military spending by the 27-nation bloc later this week at an emergency E.U. summit in Brussels. She has previously said the E.U. plans to trigger an emergency clause on deficit spending to allow for significantly more defense spending.
More financing would come from the creation of a new E.U. instrument for investing in joint air defenses, missiles and drones, and other military spending, and other measures call for the easing of restrictions on the European Investment Bank that now limit it to "dual-use" military and civilian purposes.
'The free world needs a new leader'
Leaders of organizations also are grappling with a world in which a rules-based international order – the rule of law, defense of individual rights, and democratic values – doesn't hinge on U.S. support.
Expressions of a profound geopolitical shift surged in the wake of Trump and Vice President JD Vance's hostility to Zelenskyy in a press encounter-turned-shouting match that Trump described as "great television."
Agnès Callamard, head of Amnesty International, said on Saturday that Trump's "crass attempt to rewrite history is and will be defeated. We are millions the world over who know the truth and who believe in the truth. Millions who want and fight for a rule-based international order."
Ukraine’s supporters in Europe and the U.S. also expressed disbelief and horror at Zelenskyy's treatment during a White House meeting that devolved into a vicious war of words.
Trump parroted Russian talking points before a press corps with a Russian state media reporter and a correspondent for a right-wing cable channel who asked Zelenskyy why he didn't wear a suit. The Associated Press and Reuters, longstanding pillars of the White House press pool, were barred from participating.
The encounter mainly benefited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Callamard noted is charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity.
"The staged clash was no doubt intended to humiliate Zelenskyy and Ukraine," she said. "It is also one more demonstration of a dangerous coalition of two superpowers – against the U.N. Charter, international law and international justice."
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, which shares a 294-kilometer border with Russia, concluded after the Oval Office encounter that it's up to Europe to defend itself.
"Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor," she wrote on social media. "Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge."
