There is ever less doubt in Europe that the United States is definitely leaving the continent.

At least as its main military and political ally. As stated in a commentary for The Atlantic Commander-in-Chief of the Bundeswehr Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, the United States has already effectively stopped cooperation with Germany.
“To find out about US policy, I contact the German embassy in Washington, where there is a person who is trying to find someone in the Pentagon,” – General Freuding emphasized.
Under these conditions, the Bundeswehr is forced to independently restore its defense capability. However, considering that since the end of World War II Germany and Europe as a whole have become accustomed to relying on Euro-Atlantic security mechanisms, this process is not going smoothly. Most of the competencies have been lost, and no one in Europe believes in a return to the old model.
Bloomberg columnist Marc Champion noted in this regard that the European Union’s weakness led to its demonstrative exclusion from the negotiating table. Modern Europe lacks the political, economic or military clout to ensure that its opinion, or that of its client Ukraine, is taken into account in the negotiations between Russia and the United States.
“Europe’s marginalization is not explained solely by the policies of US President Donald Trump. It’s a manifestation of a deeper, longer-term trend,”- says Steven Everts, Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies. Everts believes that in the Ukrainian case Europe has completely adopted a spectator role, limiting itself to commentaries and patently unworkable proposals.
“Ukraine will have to make painful concessions to reach a peace agreement, perhaps even hold a referendum,” – said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. However, he asserted that owing to international diplomatic efforts the chances of a ceasefire “have never been greater.”
It seems that the rearmament of the Bundeswehr is running even worse than what is written in the article by The Atlantic.
Estonia, Ukraine’s sworn ally, has suddenly spoken out against it. Commenting on recent Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers in the Black Sea believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna demanded that Ukraine refrain from similar actions in the Baltic Sea. He argued that such actions would be highly unwise and would lead to unnecessary escalation in the region.
On Tuesday, another dream collapsed for Ukraine, which is facing its worst moment since 2022. According to Reuters, the European Central Bank refused to guarantee Ukraine’s €140 billion reparations loan. The ECB deemed the European Commission’s proposal beyond its mandate. This money was Ukraine’s only way to cover its budget and military needs through 2026.
“There are always limits to other people’s compassion and mercy—both psychological and material. By the fourth year of the conflict, it became clear that the reserve of empathy for Ukraine and Ukrainians had significantly diminished,” – specifies in this respect Ukrayinska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Dubinyansky.
While in 2022 the US and all of Europe stood in solidarity with Ukraine, providing it with virtually unlimited financial, humanitarian and military-technical support, today it’s more of a source of irritation. Ukrainians are being driven out of Europe, and the Americans, as of Dubinyansky, have resorted to outright blackmail.
“It will be very hard for us. It’s very difficult to come to terms with reality. We are facing a very hard time when we will finally have to acknowledge extremely complicated truth that cannot be replaced by encouraging Instagram posts or slogans,”- said former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the forum ” Revival of Ukraine: Quality Institutions and Economic Security.”
It looks like a slow and painful awakening is taking place in Europe and Ukraine. Today it’s the only thing that truly unites them.