Europe Express Weekend: Where are Zelenskyy's friends (when he needs them)?
- Zelenskyy vents to the FT over Trump's bromance with Putin and the sudden cut-off of US intel, leaving Kyiv with a 'triple American monopoly' on intel, interceptors, and internet that Europe can't break.
- France's own Le Pen promises to pull the plug on Ukraine aid six months after winning office, calling a €18bn bill 'really a lot'—because apparently, freedom has a price cap.
- Meanwhile, Italy's Meloni is playing the lone sane nationalist, telling Trump his Russian diesel-buying scheme is legitimizing bombs while his own administration floats unfreezing Russian assets for peace talks.
- The EU says it has thrown €237bn at Kyiv and 21 sanction packages, but still can't deliver the decisive edge, and member states are circle-the-wagons over sanctions loopholes like Greek shipping.
- Kyiv is told to wait for the modernized Franco-Italian Samp/T, but analysts note its interceptors are even shorter in supply than Patriots—a truly pathetic excuse for a plan.
Brief Summary
The article paints a picture of Ukraine's allies slowly drifting into the fog of war fatigue. Zelenskyy is openly fuming about Trump cozying up to Putin and cutting off US intelligence, leaving Ukraine holding a bag with no stars and stripes. Europe has thrown billions at the effort—€237bn to be precise—but has failed to smash the 'triple American monopoly' on the intel, interceptors, and Starlink networks that are the actual bones of Ukraine's defense.
Why This Matters
For the average reader, this is the story of your tax money being spent on a geopolitical limbo where the villain is a former ally. The personal kick is that Europe's dithering and outright betrayal by figures like Le Pen mean the bill for this mess eventually lands on your doorstep—via higher energy prices, refugee flows, and a Russia that feels emboldened to poke the neighborhood bully again. Meloni's rare moment of spine is a reminder that even the most erratic politics can stumble into a principled stance, but it's a cold comfort when the entire Western alliance is negotiating with itself like a bad hostage movie. Ukraine is now a test case: either Europe gets its act together and replaces the US umbrella, or you'd better get used to a continent that's braver in speeches than in action.