Trump's Ukraine plan will cost EU countries about $3 trillion - Bloomberg

The agency recalls that on Wednesday, Trump held telephone talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

According to two European officials, key US allies in Europe have not received any notification of this and are shocked by this event. Another European supporter of Ukraine called it a “sell-out,” saying that the US was caving into Putin's key demands before the talks even began.

According to one senior European official, Russia has a significant manpower advantage over Europe, and its military economy can produce shells and other military equipment at a rate that exceeds the needs of the army on the front lines in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, EU member states are debating whether to limit purchases to European suppliers who will not be ready to deliver some of the needed weapons for many years rather than working with the British or buying from the Americans.

At the same time, Europeans are concerned that no one on Trump's team has any real experience negotiating with the Russians. Most members of Putin's team are intelligence officers and have decades of experience working with the United States and Ukraine.

"For all Trump’s confidence, the path to a deal remains highly uncertain, with Putin showing no inclination that he wants to compromise on his longstanding demands and his goal of colonizing Ukraine apparently unchanged. But the broad contours of a settlement are coming into focus," the agency writes.

Defense spending to repel Russia

According to Bloomberg Economics, if the Europeans manage to establish communication with the White House, they will try to convince Trump to maintain US support for Kyiv long enough for the EU countries to quickly build up their own capabilities.

However, if Washington refused to join NATO forces to counter a possible Russian attack, Putin would succeed in creating a rift between the United States and its EU allies, which has been his longstanding goal.

According to the agency's analysts, rebuilding the Ukrainian army could cost about $175 billion over 10 years, depending on the state of the Ukrainian armed forces at the time of the settlement and the territory they will have to defend.

According to recent discussions at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the bulk of the funding would go to building up the military capabilities of EU members and raising the total defense budget to 3.5% of GDP.

Additional funding will be directed to artillery stockpiles, air defense systems, and missile systems. This will strengthen the EU's eastern borders, prepare EU military forces for rapid deployment, and contribute to a significant growth of the European defense industry.

The military force will also help strengthen the EU's eastern borders, prepare European armies for rapid deployment, and boost the continent's defense industry.

Bloomberg economists estimate that if financed by debt, this would add another $2.7 trillion to the borrowing needs of the five largest European NATO members over the next decade.

At the same time, the expansion of Europe's armed forces, along with the defense of Ukraine, could cost the continent's largest states an additional $3.1 trillion over the next 10 years.

Trump's position on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has called it unlikely that Ukraine will return to the 2014 borders and is convinced that Ukraine is unlikely to regain control of the territories seized by Russia.

He also called Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO unlikely and impractical. At the same time, there will be assistance, but it will be safe.

Instead, the head of the White House hopes for a quick settlement of the war between Ukraine and Russia and announced a partnership agreement.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that European allies should take the initiative to protect Ukraine.

According to him, protecting European security should be an imperative for European NATO members, and most of the future lethal and non-lethal assistance to Ukraine should be provided by Europe.