Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday proposed that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine — which is nearing three years — shows the need for the European Union to create a unified army.
“I really believe that time has come,” Zelensky said early Saturday, per The Associated Press. “The armed forces of Europe must be created.”
“Three years of full-scale war have proven that we already have the foundation for a united European military force,” he added, according to the AP. “And now, as we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe.”
His speech at the Munich Security Conference only bolstered the Ukrainian leader’s push for greater military and economic support from his EU counterparts, along with the U.S. He has also consistently warned that other parts of Europe could be vulnerable to the Kremlin’s expansion efforts.
Zelensky, who met a day earlier with Vice President Vance, also invoked his recent conversation with President Trump during his remarks.
Trump earlier this week signaled that he would soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to contract a peace deal that would bring an end to the fighting that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky on Wednesday chided him for speaking to Putin first, claiming his nation wouldn’t approve any deals without Ukraine at the negotiating table.
While the president clarified that the war-torn country would be included, the Ukrainian leader argued that Europe should also be involved.
“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement, and the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” Zelensky said, adding that “not once did (Trump) mention that America needs Europe at the table.”
General Keith Kellogg, the Trump administration’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, all but ruled out that possibility in his remarks Saturday, the AP reported.
“I’m a school of realism. I think that’s not going to happen,” Kellogg said during an event hosted by a Ukrainian tycoon, adding later that, “we need to ensure Ukrainian sovereignty.”
He also suggested that Europe would be “critical to this.”
Zelensky has also pressed NATO to welcome Ukraine into the alliance, arguing last year that it could halt the “hot stage” of the war. On Friday, he conceded that support for the country to join the alliance was wavering, even before Trump returned to office.
The comments follow rhetoric from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vance earlier this week suggesting that the possibility was unrealistic at this time. While Hegseth later softened on his stance, Trump’s moves to end the war have rattled critics and allies alike.
