The head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, arrived this Saturday (9) in Kiev in an attempt to demonstrate support from the bloc’s countries for a Ukraine in a state of apprehension following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States elections.
The president-elect is critical of American involvement in the war. Joe Biden, in contrast, Washington has repeatedly demonstrated full support for Kiev in its response to the Russian invasion, sending billions of dollars in weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian government.
Trump’s victory worries both Ukraine and European countries that support the Ukrainian government against Moscow.
“Our message is clear: Europeans will continue to support Ukraine,” said the outgoing Borrell, who will be replaced by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas next month. “We have supported Ukraine from the beginning and today, on my last visit [como chefe da diplomacia da UE]I convey the same message: we will support everything we can”, added the Spaniard.
Trump has said several times that he can end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” Analysts argue that the statement signals the president-elect’s intention to pressure Kiev to give up Russian-occupied territory in the name of ending hostilities.
The Republican was elected with a speech opposing the high financial cost of military support to Kiev offered by Biden since the beginning of the invasion, in February 2022. Furthermore, he is known for his complimentary comments about the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
“No one knows what the new government [dos EUA] will do,” Borrell said in Kiev. “But we Europeans need to seize this opportunity to build a stronger and more united Europe. One of the manifestations of our unity, our strength and our capacity is our role in supporting Ukraine.”
Even before the American elections, the possibility of Donald Trump returning to office had already caused European leaders to raise the possibility of building their own security architecture, independent of NATO.
Trump is extremely critical of the Western alliance, and often says that Europeans “take advantage” of American military power to not invest in their own Armed Forces.
One of the main proponents of a European alliance, including an eventual common EU army, is French President Emmanuel Macron. The centrist politician has already said that the bloc cannot protect itself in any other way, and has recently been pushing for the creation of a new European military division within NATO.
EU countries have already sent US$125 billion, around R$700 billion, in aid to Ukraine since the start of the war. The US alone contributed US$90 billion, according to a continually updated database from the Kiel Institute in Germany.
