-Analysis-
PARIS – Two cities, two atmospheres. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, top Ukrainian officials President meet with the Americans today for the first time since the humiliating scene of Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and the suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence support to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Paris, around 30 countries — without the United States — are gathering, mostly at the level of their top military leaders, to discuss Ukraine as well. The focus: military aid during and after the war, and the potential deployment of a European force — not to fight, but to ensure a ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to address these military leaders, marking a significant and unprecedented event.
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The two meetings may differ in nature, but both are part of a diplomatic frenzy that often accompanies moments of global upheaval — when familiar reference points collapse, when former allies become potential adversaries, or at the very least, no longer entirely reliable partners.
Zelensky under U.S. pressure
Zelensky has been under immense pressure ever since Donald Trump effectively showed him the door at the White House on Feb. 28. In response, the Ukrainian president has made several conciliatory moves, fully aware that Europe cannot step in as a substitute for the United States. More importantly, he is still striving to influence the inevitable negotiations between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The Americans are playing a cruel game.
But the Americans are playing a cruel game with him. On one hand, suspending military aid at a time when Russia shows no signs of weakening amounts to a blatant stab in the back. On the other hand, there’s the psychological warfare — a heated exchange erupted Monday on X (formerly Twitter) between Elon Musk, a key figure in Trump’s orbit, and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Sikorski was responding to a thinly veiled threat from Musk to cut off Starlink access to the Ukrainian military. When the Polish minister pushed back, Musk shot back, telling him to “calm down” and dismissing him as a “small man.” In response, Poland’s prime minister immediately called for “respect” in relations between allies — an expectation that, at the very least, should go without saying.
Europe’s role in a changing world
Is Europe rising to the occasion? Without a doubt, the level of mobilization across the continent is unprecedented — especially when it comes to defense. This is something we’ve never seen before, with the French and post-Brexit British taking the lead.
However, most Europeans have yet to overcome the shock of Trump’s brutality. They find themselves abandoned from the American protection that has served them well for decades. Some are still torn between denial and fear of taking too many risks. Even though the goal is to move forward with those who are ready and willing, without waiting for an impossible consensus.
Most urgently, Europeans are still trying to wedge a foot in the door of future American-Russian negotiations, to prevent Trump, in his rush to secure a peace he promised would happen “in 24 hours,” from compromising on crucial points: the demilitarization of Ukraine, which would be an invitation for future conquest, and the security guarantees that Europeans are ready to offer.
This new world order is being shaped amid confusion, no longer based on alliances and rule of law, but on pure power dynamics. The message from the European military chiefs gathered in Paris must be clear: We exist!
