French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe must be prepared to defend Ukraine alone without any more assistance from the US under the Trump administration.
Macron, who delivered a prime-time address in France Wednesday night, renewed calls for the European Union to arm itself and Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
“I want to believe that the US will stand by our side, but we have to be ready if they don’t,” Macron said following President Trump’s order to halt military aid and intelligence assistance to Kyiv.
The French president also reiterated remarks by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suggesting that Europe may have to send peacekeeping soldiers to Ukraine to defend it if a cease-fire is called.
“In the face of this dangerous world, to remain a spectator would be crazy,” Macron declared. “We must continue to help Ukrainians resist until they can negotiate with Russia a lasting peace for themselves and for all of us.
“The path to peace cannot be reached by abandoning Ukraine,” he added, appearing to take a jab at Trump’s latest policies.
Macron stressed the importance of arming both itself and Ukraine as a permanent means to dissuade Russia from encroaching on the rest of Eastern Europe, with the French president accusing Moscow of eyeing more land in its invasion.
“Who can believe that in this context, Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become, and will remain, a threat to France and Europe,” he said.
Macron has teamed up with Starmer to try and form a united European front in negotiating an end to the war following last week’s fallout between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Following the disastrous meeting, Trump ordered the US to halt its military aid to Ukraine, with the CIA confirming Wednesday that the agency has stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
Both sides are currently negotiating the future of America’s commitment to Ukraine, with Macron and the rest of the EU’s leadership set to hold a summit on Thursday to discuss a possible end to the war.
The previous EU summit saw Macron call on Europe to boost its annual spending on NATO, urging members to give as much as 3.5% of their gross domestic product earnings to the alliance.