Zelenskyy: ‘The time has come’ for a European army – POLITICO Europe
Despite talk of a peace agreement, Russia is continuing to wage war against Ukraine. Live coverage from Munich: POLITICO is on the ground at the Munich Security Conference, where we’re having conversations with top officials, lawmakers and experts at our POLITICO Pub. Follow our exclusive coverage here.MUNICH — European leaders should create a European army in response to Russia’s military build-up, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.”I really believe that the time has come that the armed forces of Europe must be created,” Zelenskyy said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “Let’s be honest, now we can’t rule out that America might say ‘no’ to Europe on issues that might threaten it.”As the third anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion nears on Feb. 24, Zelenskyy said Europe needed to coalesce behind a single foreign and defense policy that would show America that the bloc is serious about its own security.”Europe has everything it takes. Europe just needs to come together and start acting in a way that no one can say ‘no’ to Europe, boss it around, or treat it like a pushover,” he said.Despite steep battlefield losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin is adding 150,000 troops to his armed forces, larger than most European armies, Zelenskyy said, and is opening army recruitment offices each week. “Oil prices are still high enough for him to ignore the world,” he said.Ukraine’s leader said his intelligence services “have clear intel that this summer Russia plans to send troops to Belarus under pretext of training exercises,” adding that could be the start of operations against neighboring European countries.However, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO’s military committee, said the alliance was unable to confirm Zelenskyy’s warning about Belarus.”I believe that Western intelligence agencies are perfectly active in this so I would expect confirmations,” he said.There is growing talk of a U.S.-led effort to end the war, with President Donald Trump beginning direct talks with Putin. But Zelenskyy warned that the Russian leader is a very unreliable partner.”Putin cannot offer real security guarantees. Not just because he is a pathological liar but because Russia, in its current state, needs war to hold power together. And the world must be protected from that,” he said.Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine would “never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.”Despite comments from Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that NATO membership for Ukraine is off the table in any final peace deal, Zelenskyy insisted his country has a future in the alliance.”I also will not take NATO membership for Ukraine off the table,” he said. “But right now, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because his whims have the power to block NATO decisions.”Despite talk of efforts to end the fighting, Russia is continuing to wage war against Ukraine.Just hours before the Munich conference got underway, a Russian attack drone hit the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor carrying at least 15 kilograms of explosive, Zelenskyy said.”This is not just madness, this is Russia’s stance,” Zelenskyy said. “A country that launches such attacks does not want peace.”Jacopo Barigazzi contributed reporting.This article has been updated. “The U.S. is rightly asking for a rebalancing of that,” said Rutte. “It’s totally logical.”European Commission president announces plan at Munich Security Conference.Boris Pistorius said it would have been better to talk about Kyiv’s NATO membership and territory “at the negotiating table.”Russian hostility and waning American support trigger broad agreement to boost defense spending — but 5 percent of GDP is too much for most European countries.
