The European Union wants to continue supporting Ukraine, but there is also war fatigue

• 

  Kysia Hekster

  They correspond to the NATO

• Tijn Sadee

  European Union Correspondent

Later at 11 am, Ukrainian President Zelensky will address the European Parliament via video link. Additional meeting: it has been a thousand days since Russia started the full-scale attack against Ukraine. Everyone in Brussels is curious: what tone will Zelensky take, what will be his most important message?

Because his speech comes at a time when the main players are talking strongly about a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. There is a lot of progress on the diplomatic front.

Zelensky spoke in an interview this weekend about ending the war in 2025, German Chancellor Scholz called Russian President Putin for the first time in more than two years and after months of intrigue from Kyiv, America seems to be giving permission to use a long time. range missiles that allow Ukraine to achieve goals deep inside Russia.

The changed course does not come out of nowhere. With the re-election of Donald Trump, America’s continued support for Ukraine has become very uncertain.

Behind the scenes, there have been clear rumblings of war weariness from parts of the European Union for some time. The EU gave a lot of help to Ukraine in the last thousand days, even more than America. This was mostly financial support, for example to keep the country going economically. When it comes to military aid, America provides much more.

If US aid were to disappear, the EU would have to double its contributions as compensation. It is highly questionable whether there is political will to do so.

Officially, nothing has changed in the position of the EU. Most parties in the European Parliament want to continue helping Ukraine. Far-right and far-left MEPs are heavily focused on peace talks.

A photo booth was set up in the European Parliament for Zelensky’s ‘1000 days speech’. Their photo can be taken by MEPs with a sign saying “We support Ukraine as far as necessary”, in the 24 official languages ​​of the EU. They can send them online today as a way to support the country.

“We will see praise and solidarity again with Zelensky,” said NSC’s Dirk Gotink. “That’s the easy part. The hard part is continuing to deliver as an EU, both financially and militarily. But what do we have to offer? There are almost 7 a- out of 10 soldiers ready to fight in American Europe.”

An MEP from one of the moderate parties who did not want to be named says: “Any promise from the Union like ‘The EU will only keep Ukraine on its feet if necessary’ is a false promise. We can’t do it. anything without Trump.

How different it was almost a thousand days ago, when Zelensky also spoke to the parliament, shortly after the great Russian attack. The tension at that time was intense. Many wondered if the president would still be alive a week later, killed or deported by the Russians.

Then the room was full, many MEPs wore blue and yellow clothes in the colors of the Ukrainian flag to show their solidarity. The Ukrainian translator who translated the president’s words into English was overcome with emotion. Sobbing, he delivered Zelensky’s message.

Many EU taboos fell during the almost three years that the war lasted. Millions of Ukrainian refugees were brought in, the union provided military aid for the first time in its existence and a package of fourteen sanctions was imposed on Russia. But that confident and united vision is now under pressure.

While Zelensky was still the main program at the time, it seems that his presence in Brussels has now been moved to the wings. An appearance with the president of Ukraine is no longer a “prime moment”. “The European Parliament is weakened, the tension is weakening,” says another MEP.

A few MEPs openly say they want to stop supporting Ukraine, such as the Italian Leoluca Orlando of the Greens. Against the party line, he says that, in his opinion, support is counterproductive and will only prolong the war. So he calls the European Union the “biggest enemy” of Ukraine.

The reduced interest in Zelensky was also visible at the last European summit in Brussels. The president of Ukraine was received with the usual respect before the summit, but the priority for European government leaders after that was long discussions about migration.

This idea leads to frustration among the Baltic states, which border Russia. “Our strategy for Ukraine in the first thousand days has failed,” concluded Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis.

“We wanted to achieve peace through demilitarization, but something else must take its place. We must act from strength and arms. All issues must be removed.”