It is through Europe that the next aid to Ukraine will arrive. NATO is meeting and more important decisions are expected, but what Zelensky really wanted remains in doubt
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stated that “firepower” is coming to Ukraine through the purchase of American weapons by European countries, but it is not yet clear whether this includes American-made Tomahawk missiles.
“Firepower, that’s what’s coming,” Hegseth said, supporting NATO chief Mark Rutte’s comments as the security alliance’s defense ministers met in Brussels. Hegseth added that the “commitments” made by European nations will soon turn into “capabilities” for Ukraine.
The weapons purchases are being made under the new Ukraine Priority Needs List (PURL) initiative, which has already seen two billion dollars pledged for military equipment for Ukraine, with more expected to be committed by NATO countries this Wednesday.
Ukraine wants European countries to be able to buy sophisticated long-range Tomahawk missiles from it under this mechanism, but that decision rests with US President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to ask for access to American Tomahawks, which would allow him to strike deep into Russia and potentially bring Moscow within reach, when he meets with Trump on Friday at the White House.
Trump has previously indicated that he may be willing to give Tomahawks to Ukraine as his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war waxes and wanes.
While missiles are one of the main discussion points for bolstering Ukraine’s defense, the issue was not on Brussels’ agenda on Wednesday.
“This is a bilateral issue,” said Rutte, NATO secretary general, referring to direct discussions between Ukraine and the United States.
NATO defense ministers have already promised more drones for Ukraine, with Britain pledging to deliver 100,000 drones and the Netherlands giving 90 million euros to build its own drones.
Russia’s recent incursions into the airspace of several NATO nations – the most serious of which saw NATO planes fire the first shots of the war, shooting down suspected Russian drones over Poland last month – have focused Europeans’ attention on how the continent will react.
Russia has stated that it did not deliberately send its drones to Poland and that its jets did not violate NATO airspace.
“If NATO is threatened, we will act and we must face his (Putin’s) escalation with our strength,” said UK Defense Minister John Healey this Wednesday.
Healey announced that British planes would continue to operate in Polish airspace for the rest of the year, calling the Russian incursions “reckless, dangerous and completely unacceptable”.
But Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said Europe needed a better solution than fighter jets to deter Russia.
“I was very proud that our Dutch F-35s were able to shoot down some Shahed drones in Poland,” said Brekelmans, referring to the US-built plane that is among the most sophisticated fighters in the NATO arsenal.
“But of course we also need to learn from this. F-35s are not the most effective way to shoot down drones and we need to find much more effective ways of doing so,” he added.
“The Russian threat is increasingly reaching NATO territory.”
In response to this threat, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds stated that weapons capable of hitting targets in Russia are “crucial” for Ukraine.
“As Russia bombs all types of civilian infrastructure and kills civilians, for Ukraine it is also a legitimate right to attack military targets (in Russia), because this is also self-defense,” he said.
“So this is also what NATO is absolutely projecting, that in any circumstance, in any scenario, we will also be willing and able to hit with deep strikes,” Sprūds continued.
“And I think this will also be an important part of Ukrainian defense and deterrence: Don’t hit our targets because we can hit you back.”
Even after the end of the war in Ukraine, Russia will continue to pose a risk to Europe, warned Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.
“Russia is actually developing its military forces for the second phase of its potential aggression… there are real threats to NATO after the Ukraine war,” he said.
Hakkanen pointed to Russia’s military modernization and the increase in the number of troops “close to our borders” as signs.
CNN’s Clare Sebastian and Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report
