European leaders are considering various options to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine amid US uncertainty about the war. One of them is to buy American weapons.
Bloomberg reports this, citing sources.
Journalists note that Europe currently has neither sufficient stockpiles of weapons nor the capacity to mass produce them — especially now that it is likely that the United States will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine. The White House has also rejected European calls to increase pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to achieve an immediate ceasefire. Instead, the Kremlin is delaying the negotiations it promised Trump, preparing a new summer offensive on the front.
One option that is increasingly being considered is to buy more American weapons and then transfer them to Ukraine. The idea is that if Trump refuses to send American weapons to Ukraine, Europe will do it.
This will help Ukraine contain Russia’s advance and perhaps force Putin to take the ceasefire more seriously, Bloomberg writes. And if the Europeans manage to convince Trump to continue sharing intelligence with Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky “will be able to hold his ground”, the journalists note.
In parallel, the European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 Russian banks from the SWIFT system and lowering the ceiling price for Russian oil as part of a new package of sanctions against Russia.
Trump held separate talks with Putin and European leaders this week, after which he said he would "step aside" if there was not sufficient progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
“This is a European affair. And it should remain so,” the president said at the White House.
Bloomberg sources say the US will likely continue to provide intelligence to Ukraine to help with targeted strikes. The brief suspension of intelligence transfers in the spring of 2025 created operational difficulties for Kyiv and at the same time raised broader concerns among US allies that they could find themselves in a similar situation in the future.
Experts warn that the arms supplies to Ukraine, approved and financed during Joe Bidenʼs presidency, could run out this summer. It will be difficult for Europe to fill this gap on its own. And Putin, according to experts, will try to take advantage of this situation.
- On May 19, Trump held a series of talks with the leaders of Ukraine, the EU, and Russia. Before his call with Putin, he called Zelensky to ask what topics to raise. According to media reports, the Ukrainian president asked to discuss a 30-day ceasefire and an upcoming meeting between Zelensky and Putin, which Trump could join.
- Trumpʼs conversation with Putin lasted more than 2 hours. Following the conversation, Putin stated that he was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine, which includes a ceasefire, and Trump said that the terms of the memorandum should be discussed only between Ukraine and Russia.
- Zelensky, following the talks, said that Ukraine would not withdraw troops from territories partially occupied by the Russians. Earlier, media reported that Russia had made such a demand on May 16 at talks in Istanbul in exchange for a ceasefire.
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