Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an “Army of Europe” to guard against Russia as he suggested the US may no longer come to the continent’s aid.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he also said Ukraine would “never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement” after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks.
In a speech in which he attacked European democracies, US Vice President JD Vance warned that Europe needed to “step up in a big way” on defence.
Zelensky said: “I really believe the time has come – the armed forces of Europe must be created.”
He said: “Yesterday here in Munich, the US vice president made it clear [that] decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending.
“From now on things will be different and Europe needs to adjust to that.”
Earlier this week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a “factory reset” for NATO which signaled the alliance needed to be “robust”, “strong” and “real”.
Yesterday, Zelensky said: “Let’s be honest. Now we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on an issue that threatens it.
“Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military.
The concept of a European army is something that has been proposed by other leaders, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron who has long backed the bloc’s own military to reduce its reliance on the US.
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