Without U.S. Support, Europe Must Defend Itself. A Security Advisor Lists Ten Steps to Take

Garvan Walshe, a former national and international security policy advisor to the British Conservative Party, published an article in Foreign Policy on February 18, outlining the steps Europe must take to strengthen its defense independently of the U.S.

1. On February 24, as leaders travel to Kyiv for the third anniversary of the war, they should hold a summit to reaffirm that Zelenskyy leads a key European nation, deserves a seat at the negotiation table, and will not be abandoned.

2. European governments should seize $150 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war reparations and bolster Kyiv’s and Europe’s defense industries, as justified under international law.

3. All major EU nations should immediately boost defense spending to 3% of GDP and plan to increase it to 5% within three years.

4. European nations should expand nuclear weapons production. While France and Britain have the technology, they lack the resources to scale up their arsenals alone, so larger EU countries must help fund the effort.

5. Sweden should transfer its entire fleet of approximately 100 Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, as they require less maintenance than F-16s and would strengthen Kyiv’s air capabilities.

6. Norway should allocate surplus profits from its oil fund, boosted by wartime energy prices, to support Ukraine’s defense efforts.

7. The UK should restart large-scale artillery shell production to strengthen its defense capabilities.

8. A coalition of willing nations should enforce secondary sanctions on companies indirectly trading with Russia (companies that do business with those doing business with Russia).

9. Europe should expand the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation to strengthen defense collaboration and weapons production.

10. Europe must develop contingency plans on how its armies would defend against Russia without U.S. support.

On February 19, several European leaders expressed their disagreement with recent comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a dictator and questioned his democratic legitimacy.