Emmanuel Macron took time out of his address to Parliament earlier this week to declare that France and Britain would “fight to the very last minute to secure a lasting peace for Ukraine. This was in Europe’s – and not just Ukraine’s – interest, he said. His was not the only grand statement of intent made by one of Kyiv’s numerous western allies this week. Yesterday, the so-called “coalition of the willing” met to reaffirm their “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”.
These lofty pledges are all very well and good. But the trouble is that, in the nearly three and a half years that Ukraine has been doing its best to throw off Russia’s invasion, we have heard iterations of these promises time and time again. Rarely, however, have they been backed up by actions robust enough to help turn the tide on Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
Since February 2022, there have been several sliding doors moments when, had Kyiv’s allies seized their chance, decisive blows could have been dealt to the Kremlin’s troops and war machine. From delays sending crucial weaponry such as tanks, fighter jets and long-range missiles to sanctions packages that have over-promised and under-delivered, time and again the West has failed to strike when the time was right.
But never have the West’s stock phrases of solidarity that we have heard felt so hollow – and its help so desperately needed – as this week. The Russian army has been ramping up its aerial assaults on Ukraine with alarming rapidity since the spring. On Tuesday night, hours after Macron’s address in London, Putin’s forces launched their largest drone attack on the country of the war so far, consisting of 728 drones and 13 missiles, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.
This came just four days on from Moscow’s previous record of the conflict, when 539 drones were directed at Ukraine. On Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Russia had in total directed over 1,200 drones and 1,000 glide bombs at the country over the past week alone.
Europe’s feeble support of Ukraine has only been matched by the volatile, transactional backing given to the country by US president Donald Trump in his six months in office. From his Oval Office ambush of Zelensky in February, to several cosy phone calls with Putin to discuss the “normalisation” of relations between their two countries, he has turned America into an unreliable ally for Kyiv. His strategy to bring an end to the war in “24 hours”, as he so infamously promised on the campaign trail appears to involve trying to bring Ukraine – rather than Russia – to its knees as quickly as possible.
There are a few slivers of hope to suggest things may yet change in Kyiv’s favour. On Wednesday, Trump told his cabinet that “we get a lot of bulls**t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth.” He has pledged new military aid to Ukraine for the first time since he returned to the White House – but only after an existing aid package was paused by his defence secretary Pete Hegseth a week prior in the name of putting “America’s interests first”. Trump reinstated the delivery – part of which was already in transit through Poland – after claiming no knowledge that it had been blocked.
Reports suggest that the president’s new weapons package could be worth as much as $300 million (£222 million) and potentially consist of patriot missiles and other mid-range weaponry. He has also teased a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday – although in relation to what exactly, good or bad, currently remains unclear.
Macron was right to remind Parliament this week that guaranteeing Ukraine’s security – or, to be more precise, though he didn’t explicitly say it, combatting the threat of the Kremlin – is vital to guaranteeing Europe’s own security. But even if Trump finally does bring in fresh, hard-hitting sanctions, and together with Europe starts to deliver the full range of weapons Ukraine has consistently been asking for, unfortunately we must ask whether this would all come too little too late.
Russia is currently advancing rapidly through the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, and the White House has made it clear that any peace deal brokered by Trump is highly likely to include handing these territories over to the Kremlin.
European leaders are reportedly concerned about how Trump could attempt to ram through such a deal without Ukraine’s consent, but despite their many platitudes about supporting Kyiv for “as long as it takes”, they have yet to come up with an alternative half-decent plan to weaken Putin’s negotiating position.
Of course, nobody truly expected Trump to be able to bring about a swift end to the war. But Europe, also so good at talking the talk on supporting Ukraine, has failed to walk the walk. It was very telling that during this week’s coalition of the willing meeting, plans to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire were quietly put on the back burner, in a tacit acknowledgement that that ceasefire is unlikely to be coming any time soon. Simply put, Ukraine has been let down by its allies over the last three years – and badly.
The West has many levers it repeatedly promises to pull to strengthen Ukraine’s fight and weaken Putin’s regime, including tougher sanctions against Russia and its allies and more aid for Kyiv. But, without delivering it, all this support amounts to is empty words. Such hollow white knight diplomacy benefits no one.
Emmanuel Macron took time out of his address to Parliament earlier this week to declare that France and Britain would “fight to the very last minute to secure a lasting peace for Ukraine. This was in Europe’s – and not just Ukraine’s – interest, he said. His was not the only grand statement of intent made by one of Kyiv’s numerous western allies this week. Yesterday, the so-called “coalition of the willing” met to reaffirm their “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”.
These lofty pledges are all very well and good. But the trouble is that, in the nearly three and a half years that Ukraine has been doing its best to throw off Russia’s invasion, we have heard iterations of these promises time and time again. Rarely, however, have they been backed up by actions robust enough to help turn the tide on Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
Since February 2022, there have been several sliding doors moments when, had Kyiv’s allies seized their chance, decisive blows could have been dealt to the Kremlin’s troops and war machine. From delays sending crucial weaponry such as tanks, fighter jets and long-range missiles to sanctions packages that have over-promised and under-delivered, time and again the West has failed to strike when the time was right.
But never have the West’s stock phrases of solidarity that we have heard felt so hollow – and its help so desperately needed – as this week. The Russian army has been ramping up its aerial assaults on Ukraine with alarming rapidity since the spring. On Tuesday night, hours after Macron’s address in London, Putin’s forces launched their largest drone attack on the country of the war so far, consisting of 728 drones and 13 missiles, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.
This came just four days on from Moscow’s previous record of the conflict, when 539 drones were directed at Ukraine. On Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Russia had in total directed over 1,200 drones and 1,000 glide bombs at the country over the past week alone.
Europe’s feeble support of Ukraine has only been matched by the volatile, transactional backing given to the country by US president Donald Trump in his six months in office. From his Oval Office ambush of Zelensky in February, to several cosy phone calls with Putin to discuss the “normalisation” of relations between their two countries, he has turned America into an unreliable ally for Kyiv. His strategy to bring an end to the war in “24 hours”, as he so infamously promised on the campaign trail appears to involve trying to bring Ukraine – rather than Russia – to its knees as quickly as possible.
There are a few slivers of hope to suggest things may yet change in Kyiv’s favour. On Wednesday, Trump told his cabinet that “we get a lot of bulls**t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth.” He has pledged new military aid to Ukraine for the first time since he returned to the White House – but only after an existing aid package was paused by his defence secretary Pete Hegseth a week prior in the name of putting “America’s interests first”. Trump reinstated the delivery – part of which was already in transit through Poland – after claiming no knowledge that it had been blocked.
Reports suggest that the president’s new weapons package could be worth as much as $300 million (£222 million) and potentially consist of patriot missiles and other mid-range weaponry. He has also teased a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday – although in relation to what exactly, good or bad, currently remains unclear.
Macron was right to remind Parliament this week that guaranteeing Ukraine’s security – or, to be more precise, though he didn’t explicitly say it, combatting the threat of the Kremlin – is vital to guaranteeing Europe’s own security. But even if Trump finally does bring in fresh, hard-hitting sanctions, and together with Europe starts to deliver the full range of weapons Ukraine has consistently been asking for, unfortunately we must ask whether this would all come too little too late.
Russia is currently advancing rapidly through the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, and the White House has made it clear that any peace deal brokered by Trump is highly likely to include handing these territories over to the Kremlin.
European leaders are reportedly concerned about how Trump could attempt to ram through such a deal without Ukraine’s consent, but despite their many platitudes about supporting Kyiv for “as long as it takes”, they have yet to come up with an alternative half-decent plan to weaken Putin’s negotiating position.
Of course, nobody truly expected Trump to be able to bring about a swift end to the war. But Europe, also so good at talking the talk on supporting Ukraine, has failed to walk the walk. It was very telling that during this week’s coalition of the willing meeting, plans to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire were quietly put on the back burner, in a tacit acknowledgement that that ceasefire is unlikely to be coming any time soon. Simply put, Ukraine has been let down by its allies over the last three years – and badly.
The West has many levers it repeatedly promises to pull to strengthen Ukraine’s fight and weaken Putin’s regime, including tougher sanctions against Russia and its allies and more aid for Kyiv. But, without delivering it, all this support amounts to is empty words. Such hollow white knight diplomacy benefits no one.