OPINION: Europe Growing Teeth

On Feb. 17th, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that Denmark will be sending its entire inventory of artillery to Ukraine. Days later, Czech President Petr Pavel announced a new initiative to supply Ukraine with 800,000 much-needed artillery shells by combining an increase in production with a new initiative to source munitions from outside the European Union. Belgium and the Netherlands have both extended funding for this initiative.

As the United States falters on supplying Ukraine much-needed ammunition and equipment, European NATO members have reaffirmed their commitments to Ukrainian victory.

Let there be no misunderstanding: the military aid provided to Ukraine by the United States has played an undeniable role in allowing Kyiv to grapple with Russia’s larger military. There is no individual country or collection of countries that can match the volume and strategic effectiveness of the United States’ security assistance to Ukraine.

However, with the absence of American support due to the ongoing obstruction campaign seen in congress, countries throughout Europe have reaffirmed many of their original commitments to providing Ukraine with military aid. Even with its reputation for making decisions at a glacial pace the European Union has managed to pass a $54 billion aid package for Ukraine in early February.

These developments should be seen as a valuable opportunity for further cooperation between the United States and our European allies. The combination of European capital and American manufacturing and production may be enough to jump-start the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. Additionally, the recent initiatives from the governments of Denmark and the Czech Republic should be a reminder to Trump and the MAGA base that by no means is Europe “not pulling its weight”.

Other Topics of Interest

Diane Francis Interviews Mikhail Zygar, Yaroslav Trofimov on Prospects of Russia’s War on Ukraine

Video discussion with three leading expert journalists on the current situation in Russia’s war against Ukraine republished with the permission of the Peterson Literary Fund.

In response to Trump’s sabotage of Ukraine aid, the other half of the Transatlantic Alliance has shown itself to be more than capable of picking up the slack. Rather than abandoning our allies and our alliances, it’s time that the United States delivers on its promises and works with NATO to bring Ukraine to victory.

Reprinted from the author’s blog Why it Matters.  See the original here.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.