Sources tell Bloomberg that the EU and UK will also attempt to convince Washington to continue sharing intelligence with Kiev.
According to a Bloomberg report published Saturday, Western European leaders are considering purchasing weapons from the United States to supply Ukraine, in anticipation of the expiration of arms transfers approved under the previous administration of US President Joe Biden.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump reiterated the possibility of the US withdrawing from the Ukraine conflict if the American-brokered talks between Moscow and Kiev fail to produce significant results, stating, “This is a European situation. It should have remained a European situation.”
Bloomberg reports that the proposal to buy US arms for Ukraine to sustain its fight against Russia is gaining traction within the EU and UK, driven by concerns that American deliveries might cease in the summer.
According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to the agency, “The idea is that if Trump refuses to send US weapons to Ukraine, Europe will.”
Sources indicate that European NATO member-states believe that persuading Trump to continue providing intelligence to Kiev could enable “Vladimir Zelensky may be able to hang on.”
Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that France has reached the limit of its capacity to provide domestically-produced weapons to Ukraine. “We cannot give what we do not have, and we cannot pluck our own army. We gave everything we could, tripled production,” he said.
In March 2024, then-Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell highlighted the strain on the EU’s weapons stockpiles, noting that after two years of military support to Kiev, “existing stocks are depleted and the conflict has evolved from a war of stocks to a war of production.” He also emphasized that the European defense industry only meets approximately 40% of its own needs, leading member states to import the majority of their military equipment.
Since returning to office in January 2025, President Trump has not announced any new US-funded military aid packages to Ukraine.
Moscow has consistently warned that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine will not achieve the West’s military objectives, but instead prolong the conflict and increase the risk of a NATO confrontation. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously stated that the Trump administration “wants peace,” in contrast to Western Europe, which seeks to prolong the fighting. On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to a peaceful resolution despite increased Ukrainian drone strikes.
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