Europe must build its own armed forces capable of fighting without U.S. support — MP Kniazhytskyi

Ukrainian MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi said this during a roundtable of the Defense Information Consortium on the topic “The Role and Place of Ukraine in Shaping the European Security and Defense System,” which took place on March 28 at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.

According to Kniazhytskyi, who is a member of the Consortium’s Supervisory Board, the decision to send the Chiefs of General Staff of the UK and France to Ukraine is not just a symbolic move. “It is a replacement of American military coordination in strategic and operational military planning in Ukraine, a preparation for the presence of a European contingent on Ukrainian territory. This marks a transition in relations between leading European countries and Ukraine to the level of an actual military alliance,” he said.

The speaker also emphasized the change in Europe’s approach to having a European military presence in Ukraine: it is a shift toward an actual military alliance between Ukraine and the leading European nations.

He further underlined the shift in Europe’s security approach after Russia’s full-scale invasion and amid the possible return of Donald Trump to power in the U.S. “The time when Europe received cheap energy from Russia and military protection from the U.S. is over. Today, Europe must build its own strong armed forces, capable of conducting full-scale combat operations without U.S. involvement,” Kniazhytskyi explained.

In the MP’s opinion, Ukraine will play a key role in the new European security system. “Ukraine has the largest army in Europe with real combat experience and is the one defending the eastern flank, where the greatest threats to European security are concentrated. Any European defense system will be impossible without Ukraine,” he stated.

The Defense Information Consortium is a coalition of analysts from Ukrainian and international research centers: the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the information and consulting company Defense Express, the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, the New Geopolitics Research Network, among others. The Consortium prepares analytical materials for government bodies, helping to make strategically important defense decisions for the country.

• Valeriy Chaly, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center, emphasized that Putin has a strong desire to demonstrate NATO’s inability to respond decisively. He added that the possibility of Russia moving from threats to the use of force could arise even within the next year: during peace negotiations regarding Ukraine, preparations for another ground invasion of Europe could already be underway.