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As United States’ support for Ukraine hangs in the balance, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) has insisted Europe can fill that gap — at least for the time being — while leaders scramble to boost military aid and defense readiness.
Speaking at Tallinn Airport after arriving back from a meeting in Kyiv involving several nations, including Canada, friendly to Ukraine, Michal said: “For a certain time, Europe can definitely plug this gap, while Ukraine today has the ability to manage even if they do not receive U.S. support for a while.”
Michal made his remarks in the context of mixed messages recently coming from the Donald Trump administration on continued support for Ukraine in fending off the Russian invasion, now into its fourth year.
While European leaders have pledged increased military aid to Ukraine, something which Trump has demanded, questions remain about how long this support can be sustained and what role the U.S. might ultimately play.
As for Estonia: “We are sending shells there, as well as various food packages provided by the Defense Forces, and so on,” Michal said.
“But the bigger countries are also making new decisions — some worth millions, some in the billions — so quite a bit of new aid is coming in, which is financially significant,” he went on.
Estonia’s plan to procure 10,000 shells for Ukraine will cost around €25 million, while the EU’s next military aid package could exceed €20 billion, according to various media reports.
Spain alone has pledged €1 billion; the U.K. €5 billion. The Nordic and Baltic countries also aim to equip and train a brigade-sized Ukrainian unit within this year.
Despite these commitments, ensuring a lasting peace remains a key concern.
According to Michal, Ukraine’s leadership fears that any potential ceasefire must be backed by strength to be effective.
Negotiations over the roles of Europe and the U.S. are ongoing, with a crucial factor in America’s involvement likely to be a mineral resources agreement with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst argued that the recent Trump messages are not the last word and rejected the notion that the U.S. president would simply allow Vladimir Putin to take over Ukraine, something which would also harm the U.S.
Herbst said: “I think there are people around who don’t understand how important it is to American interests that Putin not win this war on Ukraine, which is what would happen if we simply stopped aid to Ukraine.”
“But Trump I think understands that it would be very bad for the United States, and very bad for him personally, if he brokered a deal which allowed Putin ultimately to take control of the country.”
Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Jonatan Vseviov stressed that Europe must be prepared not just to talk but to act independently, warning against passivity.
“European leaders have been strongly emphasizing this readiness in recent weeks. Now it must be confirmed via actions that they truly intend to follow through. The criterion of truth is practice. And I believe it is possible,” Vseviov said.
Jonatan Vseviov. Source: ERR
Michal missed marking Estonia’s Independence Day at home Monday and traveled to a summit in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the meeting, which featured the Nordic-Baltic8 (NB8) nations along with Canada, Spain, and EU representation, the prime minister emphasized Estonia’s unwavering support for Ukraine, urging faster action and stronger sanctions against Russia while reaffirming Estonia’s commitment to Kyiv’s future membership of the EU and NATO.
European leaders pledged increased military support for Ukraine, though broader geopolitical calculations — including U.S. involvement — continue to shape the discussion.
European leaders will convene for an extraordinary summit next week to discuss both continued support for Ukraine and strengthening Europe’s overall defense readiness.
Were the U.S. to step down aid and Europe to spool up its defense industry further, this could diminish America’s relative standing in the longer term even if in the shorter term Europe may need to purchase U.S. defense output which they would then send to Ukraine. Both blocs stepped down their defense sectors significantly with the end of the Cold War, though the U.S. to a lesser extent given the number of international military missions it has been involved in since then.
Source:
‘Aktuaalne kaamera,’ reporter Maria-Ann Rohemäe.
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