Europe must help Ukraine beef up its military until it joins NATO, the country’s leader has told the Munich Security Conference
Vladimir Zelensky has issued a new demand to Ukraine’s western backers, after the US said Kiev’s goal of NATO membership is “unrealistic.” Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Zelensky stated that Kiev needed an army of some 1.5 million soldiers.
If Ukraine is not a member of the US-led military bloc, then it must build its defense capabilities together with Western Europe, Zelensky warned. He went on to claim that NATO membership remained the best and “cheapest” option for Ukraine’s security.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week described Kiev's hopes of NATO membership as “unrealistic,” a stance that was later reaffirmed by US President Donald Trump.
Zelensky insisted however “Until we are part of NATO, we need an army capable of protecting the country. This means NATO-standard weaponry and a sufficient number of trained Ukrainian troops. Based on calculations with our military leadership, that means an army of 1.5 million soldiers,” Zelensky said.
Russia has maintained that Ukraine’s aspirations to join the US-led military bloc are one of the conflict’s root causes. On Thursday, Trump blamed the hostilities on his predecessor Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
The US President held a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, stating afterwards that Moscow and Washington would start immediate negotiations to end the fighting.
In January, Zelensky proposed deploying at least 200,000 European soldiers as peacekeepers in Ukraine to enforce any potential peace agreement with Russia. In a recent interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, Zelensky said Ukraine had 980,000 military personnel in service.
Maintaining a 1.5 million-strong army would require a 50% increase in funding, Zelensky said, questioning who would finance it and how.
The Trump administration recently froze all foreign US aid, including for Ukraine, amid a government-wide spending review. Many EU and NATO members have failed to meet the bloc’s current defense spending target of 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Snce the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, western countries have provided over $82 billion in aid to Ukraine per year, according to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. A Friday press release by the think tank claims that the EU has given Kiev nearly $64 billion in military aid, while the US has provided some $66 billion.
