Dmytro Shulga

Instead of just watching the Trump show and betting on Trump solving European security, Europe should undertake its own comprehensive plan and beat Putin: 1. Militarily, we must work with Ukraine to immediately establish an integrated air defense system that networks airspace surveillance and systems, improves drone defense, protects civilians from rockets and cruise missiles, and leverages the valuable frontline experience of the Ukrainians to protect NATO’s eastern flank while simultaneously improving Kyiv’s defenses. This means using NATO air defense systems to provide a protective umbrella over Western Ukraine. 2. At the same time, Europe needs to swiftly provide long-range weapons to Ukraine so it can target Russian command centers, ammunition depots, airfields, and drone factories deep in the Russian hinterland. This will give Ukraine important military advantages while also meeting European security interests. 3. Moreover, Europe should launch an emergency €10bn ($12bn) program to support the Ukrainian arms industry, stabilize its budget with €50bn in macro-financial aid, and systematically build up Ukraine’s future armed forces with a multi-year, multi-billion-euro program. This would be financed by confiscated Russian assets. 4. Europe must further prepare its military presence in Ukraine using the EU’s Article 42, which would also be feasible for a German mandate, and open to partners such as the UK, Turkey, Japan, or Australia. The recently agreed Multinational Force – Ukraine (MNF–U) headquarters is being established in Kyiv, is being led by a British two-star officer answerable to three-star officers in London and Paris, an unmistakable signal of pan-European determination and a useful template for the inclusion of non-EU partners. 5. Economically, we must stop the money that funds Moscow’s war machine. Europe must abruptly and finally end all energy and raw material imports from Russia — no oil, no gas, no liquefied natural gas, no uranium, or titanium, not even through third countries like India. Every euro spent on Russian energy and raw materials prolongs the war. 6. Another immediately feasible step is to completely stop the so-called shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea. Old tankers that circumvent sanctions must no longer be allowed to sail in the Baltic Sea for environmental and safety reasons, and to shut down the flow of further monies to the Kremlin’s coffers. 7. Building on the positive steps taken in EU sanctions packages 18 and 19, existing sanctions must be further tightened and consistently enforced, including against third countries that help Russia circumvent them. These states should finally face tangible economic and political consequences. This is another means of reducing the Kremlin’s income. 8. To secure its own ability to act, the EU must not allow individual member states to continue blocking decisions in an existential situation. Hungary must be temporarily stripped of its voting rights in the Council of the European Union with immediate effect. 9. Europe should no longer serve as a leisure or sanctuary destination for Russians. Until the war concludes, no new Schengen visas should be issued to Russian citizens, and those with existing visas should gradually be withdrawn, starting with diplomatic passports and visas for officials, oligarchs, and their children. 10. Lastly, Europe must directly address the Russian people. We must tell them that the war machine that has caused over one million Russian casualties, including 250,000 dead, can end, and that a peaceful and prosperous future with Russia and for Russia is possible — but only when Russia loses its war of imperial conquest. This European roadmap is realistic and can be implemented immediately. We should finally abandon the illusion that time is on our side. Europe cannot defeat Putin with strongly worded condemnations, stilted political communication, and bureaucratic policy management. Every month we hesitate costs human lives, destroys infrastructure, and weakens Europe’s credibility.