Europe Wakes Up About Ukraine….Finally!  

Europe has finally awoken from its relatively deep sleep on the issue of Ukraine.

It has been three years since Russia’s Putin illegally and for no logical reason invaded Ukraine to take back what he says is a country that conceptually has always been part of Russia…..not!

Finally realizing that Russia’s incursion into Ukraine is a test case by Putin to see how much he can get away with and, if left unchallenged, may vey well have eyes on the rest of Europe as well, the leadership there has been moved to act.

Truth be told many of the nations of Europe have provided armaments to the Ukrainians to help them fight this war.  But in addition, Ukraine has needed this kind of political backup to successfully demonstrate to Putin that there are red lines he cannot cross while making sure that Trump does not “give away the store” in his zeal to end the war and claim his Nobel Prize.

To support that approach, and to ensure that Ukrainian President Zelensky will be treated with the respect he deserves, (unlike how he was treated during his last visit to the White House in February), he will be accompanied to today’s meeting with Trump by the following European leaders:

• Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer
• President of France, Emanuel Macron
• Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz
• NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte
• EU President, Ursula von der Leyen
• Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni
• President of Finland, Alexander Stubb

That fact alone is nothing short of amazing and marks the first time in memory that such a group has ever accompanied one of their own to a meeting with a sitting US president.

It is not clear whether these people were invited there by US President Trump or whether the President was simply told that they would all be attending the meeting as well.  Perhaps we will never know the truth on that one.  Whatever it is, the White House Press Office will spin it as having been an invitation from the President.  But no matter, the symbolism here is critical.

We can be sure that in the face of such a stellar array of leadership, the US President will not talk down to Zelensky; Vice President Vance will not lecture him on why he should say thank you more often; and no presidential sycophant reporter in the room during the press briefing will criticize Zelensky for not wearing a suite and tie.

There is no way to tell in advance whether the meeting will be productive.  Everyone certainly hopes it will be as that war, like all wars including ours here in Gaza, has gone on far too long with too many people killed and injured.  However, even if nothing substantial comes of the session, the fact that many of Europe’s leaders chose to make the spur of the moment trip to Washington to show support for Ukraine and their commitment to democracy is an encouraging sign in a world with fewer and fewer such signs as autocrats gain more power.

In a word, the victors and the vanquished of World War II in the European theater of operations will meet together in Washington to do what they can to prevent World War III.  Let us all hope that they will be successful.