Ekaterina Girnyk09:01, 16.10.26

If intelligence from the US stops flowing, Europe will be unable to provide an effective alternative.

European leaders are trying to prepare for a reality in which US President Donald Trump is effectively siding with Moscow – and for many, this has been an extremely painful revelation, writes Bloomberg .

In just a week, Trump scrapped years of energy sanctions against the Kremlin, demanded that Kyiv cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, and hinted at the illegitimacy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy—all the while echoing Moscow’s propaganda. According to sources, this was an extremely unpleasant moment for the Europeans.

As some EU leaders, including those of France and Germany, have privately noted, this has been a painful revelation for many—a reality they’ve been trying to escape for months: Trump’s instinct is to criticize Kyiv and support Russia. And it’s unlikely anything will change.

“The Western alliance’s position is weaker now than it was just a few days ago. If Ukraine is not supported, then all of Europe – and, in my view, NATO as a whole – will find itself in a much more dangerous position,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.

The current rift comes at an extremely unfortunate time.

Winter is approaching, and Ukraine is short of American interceptor missiles for its Patriot missile systems. Furthermore, Kyiv’s military spending is creating a huge budget gap, which Europe is struggling to fill. Meanwhile, Russia is increasingly attacking civilian targets, causing Kyiv to experience periodic power and water outages. Next month, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will have the opportunity to meet with Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China—an event that neither Zelenskyy nor European representatives will attend.

Meanwhile, Trump faces midterm elections in a few weeks, in which his Republican Party is expected to suffer significant losses. Therefore, he is seeking ways to quickly lower gasoline prices. This desire explains Trump’s attempts to secure purchases of Russian diesel fuel—despite existing sanctions—and his calls for Ukraine to stop attacks on oil refineries.

Europe has no solution to the problem

According to sources, most of Zelenskyy’s European partners are now advising him to tone down his criticism of Trump, as there is no alternative to cooperation with the United States. Washington continues to supply Ukraine with weapons and share intelligence that is vital to Kyiv’s defense:

“If intelligence stops flowing, Europe will have no effective solution to the problem,” one official said.

This is likely why EU leaders, arriving in Brussels for the summit on Thursday, tried to refrain from harsh public criticism of Trump. However, sources report that during closed discussions, some of them expressed shock at the US president’s recent behavior.

“According to sources familiar with the discussions, EU foreign ministers privately agreed on Monday that European policy toward Ukraine should remain unchanged, regardless of any drastic changes in Washington. They agreed to engage with the US when possible, and otherwise to continue supporting Kyiv independently,” Bloomberg writes.

Europe and the war in Ukraine – latest news

As reported, the UK is supplying Ukraine with more long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to enable Kyiv to disrupt Russian military operations targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure before winter sets in.

Meanwhile, the EU called Ukraine’s decision to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries  entirely justified and useful .

(C)UNIAN 2026