Europe must unite to form a new common army to guard against the mounting threat from Russia, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
His comments came amid growing fears that Donald Trump plans to weaken US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and water down its commitment to Nato.
Mr Zelensky’s views were reinforced by a separate warning by General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former supreme allied commander of Europe.
Writing in The Independent, Sir Richard says the US can no longer be trusted as Europe and Britain’s ally. He calls for a dramatic rise in defence spending to avoid the risk of a third world war.
Speaking at the Munich security conference, Mr Zelensky said: “I believe in Europe and I urge you to act for your own sake, for your nations, your houses, your children, for our shared future.
“We need confidence in our own strength so that other people respect European power.
“I believe the time has come to create an armed forces of Europe ... money alone will not stop an enemy assault. it is not just about budgets it is about people realising they need to defend their own home.
”We need this so that decisions about Europe are made in Europe.”
It comes after Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine revealed that Europe would be consulted but ultimately excluded from the peace talks.
The US president and Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke this week about plans to bring the invasion of Ukraine to an end.
Asked if Europe would be present at the planned talks, Keith Kellogg said he was from “the school of realism, and that is not going to happen”. It is understood French president Emmanuel Macron has invited European leaders to Paris in the coming days to discuss the issue.
Mr Zelensky said: “A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at the table. That says a lot.
“The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”
Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine is off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia, but he said: “Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.”
Mr Trump said he had spoken to Mr Putin on Wednesday and agreed to “work together, very closely” to bring an end to the war as it nears its third anniversary.
The UK has been clear that talks about a peace deal must involve Ukraine, amid fears in western capitals of Washington and Moscow negotiating European security over the heads of leaders on the continent.
Mr Zelensky said he wanted allies to gather in Kyiv or online on 24 February to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale assault.
He added: “This meeting must deliver a clear vision for our next steps on peace, security guarantees and the future of our collective policy.
“And I do not believe in security guarantees without America. Yes, it will be just weak. But America will not offer guarantees unless Europe’s own guarantees are strong.
“And I also will not take Nato membership for Ukraine off the table, but right now the most influential member of Nato seems to be Putin because his whims have the power to block Nato decisions.”
He warned that Russia was sending troops to Belarus, possibly presenting a threat to the Nato countries bordering it.
The Ukrainian leader’s comments came after foreign secretary David Lammy and defence secretary John Healey called on the UK and Europe to “do more” to “share the burden” of regional security in a joint article for The Telegraph.
They also said that a “durable peace” would need a “continuing US commitment to its allies through Nato”.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Zelensky that Britain is committed to Ukraine being on an “irreversible path” to joining Nato, after the US appeared to rule out its membership.
Writing in the newspaper, Mr Healey and Mr Lammy said that for two decades the Russian leader has been “seeking to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the countries around its borders”.
“Too often in the past, the West has let him,” they added. “We did too little in 2008 when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014 when he first went into Ukraine.”
Growing tensions between Europe and the US have been laid bare at the Munich security conference.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz denounced US vice-president JD Vance for attacking Germany and Britain over free speech in his speech at the gathering.
Mr Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticising the “firewall” used by German mainstream parties against the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD).
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
Mr Scholz said Mr Vance’s remarks were “unacceptable”.
