The Economist: Trump administration "fed up" with Europe's efforts to strengthen Ukraine
Some aides to US President Donald Trump are unhappy with Europe's efforts to strengthen Ukraine.
Source: The Economist, citing diplomats, as reported by European Pravda.
Details: The Economist lists a number of steps taken by the Trump administration that confirm the US withdrawal of support for Ukraine - from withdrawing the military from the key base in Rzeszow and reducing its presence in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Format) to imposing a basic 10% tariff on Ukraine (while nothing of the kind has been imposed on Russia).
In another sign of the times, The Economist notes that Pentagon officials recently questioned an ally about why it continues to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Diplomats in Washington also report that some Trump aides privately say they are "fed up" with Europe's efforts to strengthen Ukraine.
"As always with such a chaotic administration, it is hard to distinguish the true signal from the noise," the newspaper notes.
Currently, Europeans are moving in two directions.
The first is the effort by the UK and France to create a European "reassurance force" to help Ukraine after the ceasefire. Russia objects to such a deployment, even though America has given no guarantees that it will support the Europeans.
The Europeans hope to show Trump that they are taking on the burden of European security, hoping to maintain at least some American commitment to NATO, if not to Ukraine.
According to this new scheme, the future "deterrence" of Russia will take place in three zones: reinforced Ukrainian forces holding the line against Russia in the east, European forces in the west, and, at least for now, a continued American presence in NATO countries.
The second direction is increased military assistance to Ukraine from Europe. David Shimer, a former National Security Council official under Joe Biden, says there is no time to waste. Europeans should give more of their weapons stockpiles, despite the risks; fund Ukraine's military industry; negotiate with Trump to buy American air defence systems for Ukraine; and use frozen Russian assets to pay for all of this.
With Russia determined to continue its invasion and America seemingly intent on standing aside, Ukraine will have to fight on, Shimer says.
Background: President Trump said that Russia's war against Ukraine is "Biden’s war, not mine" and claimed that he had been told that Russia had made a mistake in Sumy.
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