The Ukrainian leader has warned continental allies not to count on the US or NATO in future conflicts
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has called for the creation of the “armed forces of Europe,” a continent-wide military force that could repel potential future threats without the help of the US or NATO. He promoted the idea at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, reiterating his earlier warnings that Russia could attack the EU after the Ukraine conflict is over, a notion Moscow has repeatedly dismissed as nonsense.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine is currently “holding back Russia” from launching military operations in other countries of the continent thanks to foreign aid, and in order to defend against the presumed threat, “Europe has to become self-sufficient, united by common strengths.”
“Many leaders have talked about Europe needing its own military, an army of Europe. And I really believe that time has come. The armed forces of Europe must be created,” he urged. Zelensky claimed it was necessary to start working on this project as soon as possible, given that “now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it.”
He referred to statements made at the conference by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who on Friday reiterated US President Donald Trump’s stance that NATO’s European member-states must take greater responsibility for their own defense. Commenting on Vance’s words, Zelensky said they signaled that “decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending” and “Europe needs to adjust.”
“We must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe,” he stated, suggesting that Kiev’s army could become “the foundation for a united European military force,” even though Ukraine is not part of the EU.
Zelensky went as far as to suggest that Kiev should be given an opportunity to “build” its own NATO in Ukraine. He said Ukraine’s long-term aspirations of joining the US-led bloc are not “off the table,” but have been postponed because “right now the most influential member of NATO seems to be [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” whose “whims have the power to block NATO decisions.”
He was apparently referring to recent statements voiced by the White House regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership. Following a phone call with President Putin earlier this week, Trump indicated that Washington will not support Kiev’s accession to the bloc as part of a potential peace deal with Moscow, countering pledges made by his predecessor Joe Biden. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later in the week also described Ukraine’s goals of joining the bloc as “unrealistic.”
Poland has rejected Zelensky’s proposal to create a European army. Speaking to TVP World on Saturday, the country’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that while he supports the notion of the EU developing its own defense capabilities, the idea of uniting national militaries to form a unified European armed forces “will not happen.”
Moscow has repeatedly brushed away claims it ever planned to attack either the EU or NATO. Putin last year dismissed the notion as “absolute nonsense” and part of the West’s anti-Russia propaganda campaign.
Russia has also consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to national security and describing it as a key factor behind the ongoing conflict with Kiev. The Kremlin has insisted that any potential settlement must include Ukraine’s neutrality, demilitarization and denazification.
