EU's Foreign Minister: We will take the lead in Ukraine if the US does not want to continue the war

The power shift in the US creates, depending on who you ask, hopes and fears about what role, if any, the country will play in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The EU’s chief diplomat now clarifies that if the US withdraws its support, the EU is ready to take on the military leadership.

Proxy wars against Russia in Ukraine have cost taxpayers in the Western coalition more than the equivalent of a thousand billion Swedish kronor, and around a million people are estimated to have lost their lives on the battlefield. The material devastation is enormous.

After three years of fighting, more and more people advocate for peace negotiations instead of continued war. One of those who was early in announcing a stop to the war was Donald Trump during his time in opposition. Now that he is back in the White House, many hope or fear, depending on who you ask, that he will fulfill his promise of a quick end to the war.

Promises that the EU will take over if the US withdraws

This is not viewed favorably in Brussels. The newspaper Politico reported that EU Commission Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s former prime minister, stated on Thursday that the EU is ready to take the lead in Ukraine if the US, under Trump, no longer wants to continue the war. It is unclear how many citizens of EU countries support her.

However, Kaja Kallas stated that she is “sure” that at least the authorities in the countries that have so far pumped money and weapons into Ukraine to drive out the Russians want to continue doing so. She expressed hope that the US, even under Trump, will continue to be one of these countries, in order not to let Russia become “the strongest force in the world“.

But if Trump were to deliver on his promise to stop the war, Kallas assured that “the European Union is ready to take over leadership” for continued war. This statement contrasts with what her predecessor, Josep Borrell, said about the same scenario, that “Europe cannot fill the void“, should the US choose to withdraw from the proxy war in Ukraine.

Clarity only after Trump is sworn in

Real clarity on how the US will now act regarding Ukraine will not come until Donald Trump is sworn in – for the second time – as President of the United States on January 20. He has previously promised to stop the war within a hundred days of being sworn in but has been secretive about how he intends to do so.

Other statements from Trump also worry the authorities in Brussels. This includes a refusal to recruit Ukraine as a member of NATO. Instead, the incoming president has expressed some understanding for Russia’s concerns about NATO moving its positions eastward – something that some analysts argue is the main reason Putin chose to invade Ukraine.

Last military aid package from Biden

The outgoing Biden administration has, however, promised that before leaving the White House, they will put together another American military aid package to Ukraine worth $500 million. It is said to include “missiles for air defense, air-to-ground ammunition, equipment to support Ukraine’s use of F-16 fighter jets, armored bridge systems, secure communication equipment, small arms and ammunition, spare parts, aid equipment, services, training, and transportation“.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj recently stated that he is ready to do everything he can to end the war, but that it must be done with “dignity for Ukraine” – if not within a hundred days, then at least by 2025. He claimed that this is also the common goal of all Ukraine’s allied countries.

Exactly how a “dignified” end to the war should be interpreted in contrast to the peace negotiations that other actors are now beginning to advocate is unclear. One view is that it is synonymous with Russia unconditionally capitulating from the territory it has gained in the war and that not a single inch of Ukrainian land will transfer to Russian ownership. Zelanskyj has, alongside a desire for peace, urged Trump to deploy NATO soldiers in the war to force Putin to peace.