A crisis in Euro-Atlantic unity: who did not support the US defense initiative on Ukraine and why
16 July 16:48
In July 2025, a new initiative by the United States and NATO to collectively finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine was threatened with disruption. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to a number of European media.
The problem is that several key European Union countries – France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary – have refused to participate in Washington’s program to arm the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The reasons range from budgetary constraints to the strategic priority of supporting national defense industries. At the center is an in-depth discussion about the EU’s role in military support for Ukraine and the future of Euro-Atlantic unity.
Czech Republic: focusing on logistics instead of financing
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has publicly confirmed that the country will not join the initiative to purchase American weapons, Politico reports. According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic will continue to focus on other forms of assistance to Ukraine. In particular, on logistics support, equipment repair, and supply coordination.
This decision provoked a mixed reaction among NATO partners, as the Czech Republic remains one of the most active suppliers of ammunition to Ukraine under European programs. However, participation in the US arms financing scheme requires direct budgetary expenditures, which Prague is not ready to make at the moment, especially in the context of an increasingly high domestic debt burden.
France: defense autonomy above all else
The French position, according to La Stampa, is to deliberately refuse to participate in the scheme for strategic reasons. Paris has traditionally insisted on the need to strengthen European defense autonomy and support the national defense industry. Purchasing American weapons, even to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, contradicts this concept. Sources in the French government confirm that the official Paris wants to use its own platforms, including air defense systems and artillery, and is not ready to allocate additional funds for the purchase of weapons from the United States. At the same time, France continues to provide assistance to the Ukrainian army from its own reserves and participates in EU programs to modernize the Ukrainian army.
Italy: limited budget and technical incompatibility
The Italian government, according to Politico, also decided not to finance the purchase of American weapons. The main reason was the difficult financial situation: Rome is facing the need to reduce its budget deficit to meet EU requirements. In addition, officials point to the technical incompatibility of American systems with already delivered Italian weapons, in particular SAMP/T systems. Italy remains committed to assisting Ukraine, but prefers other formats, including participation in logistics operations, engineering support, and transportation coordination.
Hungary: silence instead of cooperation
Although the Hungarian authorities have not made an official statement, military analysts have no doubt that Budapest will not participate in the program. Hungary has repeatedly blocked joint defense initiatives of the EU and NATO regarding Ukraine. The reasons for this line of behavior are both fiscal and political and range from a reluctance to irritate Russia to active opposition to any mechanism that involves centralized coordination at the NATO level without the approval of all member states.
Reaction of partners: from skepticism to determination
A number of countries, including Poland, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom, have already expressed their readiness to support the US initiative. At the same time, the discussion is entering a new phase: more and more EU leaders are emphasizing the use of frozen Russian assets for arms purchases to avoid further burdening national budgets. This approach could be a compromise that would allow for unity in support of Ukraine without risking political stability in individual countries.
As political analysts explain, the refusal of several leading EU countries to participate in the US arms financing scheme for Ukraine does not mean a decrease in support for Kyiv. However, it is a clear signal that the formats of such support must change. Governments face financial challenges, political pressure, and the need to take into account domestic public sentiment.
Read also: Washington will send weapons again: what is known about the new US assistance to Ukraine
What you need to know about the US initiative to supply weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and what NATO and the EU have to do with it
on July 14, the world media reported that US President Donald Trump, after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, announced that he had signed an arms deal with Ukraine. The United States will sell about $10 billion worth of weapons to NATO allies, with the aim of further delivering these purchases to Ukraine.
According to CNN, Washington is considering selling short- and medium-range missiles, howitzer ammunition, and air-to-air missiles to NATO countries for further transfer to Ukraine. According to the TV channel’s sources, the scheme does not involve the direct transfer of weapons from the United States to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as Trump intends to avoid accusations of breaking his own election promises to reduce American involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The very next day, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, said that his country was ready to purchase US Patriot anti-aircraft missiles for further transfer to Ukraine.
“I assured Trump that Germany will play a decisive role… The government will have to buy these systems from the United States to give them to Ukraine,” Merz said.
At the same time, Military Watch Magazine wrote that the United States will not be able to supply Ukraine with Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems and missiles in the near future. The main reason for this is the critically low stocks of interceptors in the US army.
According to the publication, by July, supplies of surface-to-air missiles had reached only 25% of the volume that the Pentagon itself considers to be the minimum required. The situation worsened after the recent shelling of the US Air Force’s Al Udeid base in Qatar: dozens of Patriot systems were used to repel a massive missile attack by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This event further exhausted the US stockpile, and now resources need to be replenished in the face of competition between the Pentagon’s internal needs and Ukraine’s requests.
Although Washington has previously announced its intention to supply Patriot SAMs as part of its support for Kyiv and to relieve pressure on the Trump administration, Military Watch emphasizes that the acute shortage of these systems within the United States makes large deliveries unlikely in the near future.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is in dire need of strengthening its air defense. The Russian army continues to destroy the Patriot SAMs already delivered using ballistic missiles, making the situation for Kyiv increasingly critical.
At the moment, the delivery of three Patriot systems to Ukraine from Germany and the Netherlands has been officially confirmed, and they will be replaced from American reserves. However, Berlin has already clarified that the first system will be delivered only in a few months. At the same time, Trump said that the first systems would arrive in Ukraine “in the coming days.” However, as the publication emphasizes, this promise may prove difficult to fulfill.
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