For Europe, the blitz of Russian strikes against Ukraine overnight was not just another reminder of the war next door. It was also a warning of how vulnerable the continent would be if the conflict were ever to cross into NATO territory.
As President Trump withdraws some U.S. military assets from Europe and considers pulling back even more, NATO allies are scrambling to fill the gap. Officials and experts say they are nowhere near doing so.
“If anyone thinks here again that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming,” Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, said in January. “You can’t. We can’t. We need each other.”
Russian fighter jets frequently enter NATO airspace to test whether the military alliance will stop them. Drones push into European territory that borders western Ukraine. And Russia has used ballistic missiles in Ukraine that can carry nuclear warheads and strike European capitals within minutes of being launched.
On Thursday, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Polish defense minister, asserted that his country’s borders were well protected during the Russian attacks. “Poland remained safe!” he said on social media, adding that French and Dutch forces helped to protect the country’s airspace. “That’s precisely why we invest in a modern army and strong alliances — so that Poles can feel safe,” Mr. Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Next week, NATO leaders are to meet in Ankara, Turkey, where they will assess whether European members of the 32-nation alliance are shouldering enough security costs after decades of reliance on the United States. Many of the European allies have increased military spending, and they collectively invested $90 billion more in their armed forces last year than in 2024. But many are also still struggling to balance devoting more resources to the military with other priorities, like health care, pensions and affordable housing.
At the same time, Europe has been spending far more to help defend and stabilize Ukraine since Mr. Trump severely curbed American support over the past year. The European Union this week began transferring six billion euros, about $6.8 billion, to Ukraine as part of a loan of 90 billion euros to help strengthen the country’s defenses, Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s top diplomat, said on social media on Thursday.
So long as Ukraine serves as Europe’s first line of defense against Russia, the money is likely to continue flowing. “We keep raising the cost until Russia understands it cannot win,” Ms. Kallas said.
