U.S. rethinks its role as Europe’s security guarantor

The U.S. is reassessing its role as a security guarantor for the European continent. This was announced earlier this year, almost on the very first day after the change of the American administration.

“Europe must take care of its own security,” and the implementation of this principle is happening right now. This does not yet involve a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops, but only a reduction in their numbers — from 1,700 to 1,000 — yet the trend is clear.

It is still unclear how far the U.S. will go in redefining its commitments as a security guarantor. In light of intrusions into foreign airspace by Russian strike drones, warplanes, and missiles, a full withdrawal of American forces would turn most European countries into comparatively easy targets for the Russian army. Recall how last month an attack by 19 drones created a military-political crisis in the EU. What will happen if everything Putin sends daily to Ukrainian cities one day targets an EU country? What will the response be if the U.S. does not enter a war against Russia?

There are many unknowns: whether Russia will attack European countries, when it would happen, and what it would look like… Yet the inevitability of a Russian invasion is cited by the defense ministries of nearly every EU country.

The process of rearming European countries will continue for several more years. During this time, the only real factor deterring Putin from attacking European capitals with Shahed drones will be the presence of U.S. troops. If they are withdrawn from the continent, the only real force capable of resisting will be the Ukrainian army.

The nuance, however, is that Ukraine is not a NATO member. Just as European countries are currently not obligated to defend our state, Ukraine has no duty to send troops to protect other countries.

It is clear that Europe and Ukraine need each other. A hypothetical fall of Ukraine would immediately leave the entire continent defenseless. A Russian invasion of Europe would require the participation of thousands of soldiers with active combat experience — and these can only be members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including representatives of European countries who have joined the Ukrainian army.

For Ukrainian troops to be involved in defending NATO member countries in Europe, Ukraine itself would need to become a NATO member, or the Ukrainian army would need to become part of a unified European army.

In the latter case, Europeans could already provide broader support to the Ukrainian army. In doing so, Europe would be helping itself as well as Ukraine.

Today’s Russia is an extremely dangerous force. An army composed 100% of mercenaries who fight purely for money makes a potential invasion of another country relatively easy. Russians kill, destroy cities, and create humanitarian, ecological, and other disasters without hesitation, simply because they were paid to do so.

Under these conditions, the nearly only chance for Europe to survive and endure is strong mutual alliance guarantees with the Ukrainian army. The sooner Europe understands this, the safer life on the continent will be.

Source

About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.