As Trump bogs down in Iran, America’s allies gird for a future without US security
(Originally published Apr. 17 in “What in the World“) Oh, yeah, hey. Remember Ukraine?
The war against Russian invaders there is still going. Russia on Wednesday launched drone and missile strikes across Ukraine that killed 17 people, making it Russia’s deadliest assault this year. While Trump busies himself elsewhere, therefore, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, and other European allies on Wednesday announced new military aid to Kyiv. The goal is to provide Ukraine with $60 billion in weapons and other military support this year to continue its fight to expel Russia’s invading forces.
The new aid was announced during a meeting of the 57-nation Ukraine Defense Contract Group, which was established by former President Joe Biden and of which the U.S. remains a member. While a U.S. Defense Dept. official attended the meeting virtually, the U.S. isn’t contributing. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that “we’ve told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore.”
The Ukraine aid coincided with an additional €1.07 billion in new investment by the European Defence Fund in 57 R&D projects involving 634 entities from 26 EU members and Norway. The biggest target of the spending: cheap, expendable strike drones.
And while Trump has cleared the Pacific of all but one aircraft carrier group, America’s Pacific allies are still worried about China’s ambitions. Australia on Thursday published its latest National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Plan, which aims to boost by 2033 its annual defense spending to A$96.6 billion ($69.2 billion)—or 3% of its projected GDP, up from 2.8% of GDP. It aims to push that figure to A$113 billion by 2036.
With Tehran winning a ceasefire against its proxies in Lebanon now on top of that over its own airspace, Trump’s military is keeping active in South America. U.S. forces on Wednesday destroyed a boat in the eastern Pacific, saying it was trafficking narcotics, killing three people. It was the 51st boat they’ve attacked since the operation began last September.