The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which the Biden administration started three years ago to counter Russian advances in Ukraine, met on April 11, 2025, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting was notable for a key detail: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended virtually, marking a shift from previous in-person U.S. participation.
Since the disastrous meeting between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the President at the White House on February 28, Europe and the United States have substantially diverged in their approach to Ukraine.
Under President Trump, America has brought on all of its political and geopolitical leverage to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Things started to heat up when Secretary of State Marco Rubio first held talks with his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia to restart the dialogue between Washington and Moscow. The two sides had not talked formally throughout the conflict.
Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy, met with President Vladimir Putin on Friday in St. Petersburg to discuss finding a peace deal on Ukraine. It was Witkoff's second meeting in as many months. Putin was under pressure to accept Witkoff's terms. To coincide with Witkoff's arrival in St. Petersburg, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Russia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war — a war that should have never happened, and wouldn't have happened, if I were president!!!"
Meanwhile, Europe has gone the other way to help strengthen Ukraine militarily, although it doesn't have the manufacturing capacity. Soon after Zelenskyy's White House visit, the UK's Keir Starmer announced a “Coalition of the Willing” with France, Germany, and other European nations to continue defending Ukraine against Russia, while remaining open to the idea of peace––but only under strict Ukrainian terms.
The Brussels meeting on Friday was co-hosted by the UK Defence Secretary, John Healey, and the German Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte participated, along with defense ministers and representatives from nearly 50 nations. They discussed ongoing support for Ukraine, focusing on military aid and progress toward peace, with European nations taking a leading role.
But, Europe is in a tough spot, struggling economically after more than three years of war between Russia and Ukraine. Germany, coming off a recession and the Bloc's powerhouse, is expected to grow only about 0.7%, and this was before President Trump announced his tariffs on Europe. Germany is heavily dependent upon exports to the United States. Belgium has imposed austerity measures to control its ballooning debt, including raising the retirement age. France continues to engage in deficit spending, far above European Union limits, to try and placate its citizens. The region thrived for decades on cheap Russian energy, but since the Ukraine war, it has had to wean itself off it and opt for far more expensive alternatives, such as relying on LNG imports from the United States.
The Ukraine war, discussed at the UDCG meeting, exacerbates these issues by prolonging energy insecurity, heightening geopolitical risks and diverting resources to defense (e.g., NATO's push for higher spending). The question remains: How can Europe do all that it says it wants to do to help Ukraine?
The "Coalition of the Willing," a group of about 30 countries led by the UK and France, has made even more promises than the UDGC. The Coalition wants to provide weapons to Ukrainian soldiers, including artillery, air defense systems, missiles, and drones, when the military stores of the Coalition countries are running dry, insufficient to meet NATO’s minimum requirements of battlefront readiness. The UK pledged £1.6 billion for 5,000 air defense missiles, and other nations are increasing donations. These promises are meaningless, even if fulfilled, given that Ukraine has few soldiers left to fight a prolonged war.
The Coalition wants to provide a "reassurance force" to be deployed in Ukraine after a ceasefire or peace agreement comes into effect, to act as a deterrent against future Russian aggression. It is modeled after the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia and Kashmir aimed at stabilizing conflict zones, protecting humanitarian aid deliveries, and securing "safe areas," while providing troops with logistics and intelligence support.
Some Coalition partners want to send troops to Ukraine in a non-combat capacity, but Russia has rejected NATO or European forces in Ukraine as a condition of peace talks. Neutral EU states like Malta and Austria have not expressed support. Hungary and Slovakia also oppose military aid to Ukraine.
Without U.S. engagement, Europe's stance in Ukraine is all talk meant to pacify its liberal elite and, therefore, of little practical consequence on the ground. As America embarks on a trade war with China, President Trump's immediate attention is now focused on far more serious issues than the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Indeed, to signify that a peace deal must be agreed to quickly, Trump's Ukraine envoy, General Keith Kellogg, told the Times of London that Ukraine could be partitioned "almost like Berlin after World War Two" as part of a peace deal. However, the Coalition leaders didn't appear to be on board with the plan.
The European leaders are in a bind. If they don't convince Zelenskyy to come to the peace table and support the United States, the conflict will continue to worsen for all parties in the region, less so for America, which has already practically exited the theater.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
Trump 2.0
1. The 7 Tools Trump Needs To Win The Trade War With China—Miles Pollard, The Daily Signal
2. Trump’s Reality-Driven U-Turn—Ben Shapiro, The Daily Signal
3. Victor Davis Hanson Says Market Wants ‘Less China’ And Believes Trump Won’t ‘Back Down’—Mariane Angela, DCNF
4. The Word Went Out: ‘Get Trump’—Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
5. To Team Trump, Tariffs Are A National Security Issue—Debra Saunders, The Daily Signal
6. House Narrowly Passes Trump-Backed Budget Plan On Party-Line Vote—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
7. Josh Hawley Says Liberals ‘Going Crazy’ Because They Know Trump Is Right On China And Biden Wasn’t—Mariane Angela, DCNF
8. ‘He Suckered China In’: Geraldo Rivera Praises Trump For ‘Brilliant’ Tariff Moves —Mariane Angela, DCNF
9. Trump Cracks Down On Obama-Era 13,000-Word Regulation On Shower Heads—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
10. Trump Admin Strips Benefits From Thousands Of Aliens On Terror Watchlist—Reagan Reese, DCNF
11. Lisa Murkowski Says She’s ‘Not Confident’ Senate GOP Will Agree To Massive Cuts In Trump-Backed ‘Beautiful Bill’—Jason Cohen, DCNF
12. Trump’s “Fair Trade” Offal—James Bovard, Mises Wire
World
13. Facebook Worked ‘Hand In Glove’ With China, Ex-Executive Tells Senate Panel—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
14. The US And Russia Are Negotiating In Bad Faith—Nina L. Khrushcheva, Project Syndicate
15. Why America Don’t Need No Stinkin’ ‘Allies’—David Stockman, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
16. Our Worst Trading Partner—Terence Jeffrey, The Daily Signal
17. Rubio Stands Firm: No More Student Visa Privileges for Terrorism Backers—Yaakov Menken, The Daily Signal
18. $3 Billion Up From Down Under to Help US Build Submarines—Anna Gustafson & Wilson Beaver, The Daily Signal
Economy
19. Why Is Wall Street Panicking?—Victor Davis Hanson, The Daily Signal
20. DOGE Lists Over $380M In Likely Unemployment Fraud—Morgan Sweeney, The Daily Signal
21. About-Face? Republicans Weigh Raising Taxes On Top Earners—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
22. Chris Matthews Can’t Wrap His Head Around Making More Lumber In US Because Of Possible Trump Tariffs—Nicole Silverio, DCNF
23. The IRS Isn’t Going Away, And This is How We Know—Ryan McMaken, Mises Wire
Politics
24. Cory Booker’s Blab-A-Thon Underlines ‘Fact-Checker’ Tilt—Tim Graham, The Daily Signal
25. FEC Opens Probe Of Rep. Jasmine Crockett Donations—Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal
26. Senate Continues Dismantling Biden’s Green Energy Agenda By Voting To Repeal Gas Water Heater Ban—Adam Pack, DCNF
27. New Senate Proposal Moves The Ball On Closing Down Department Of Education —Jonathan Butcher, The Daily Signal
28. Border Czar Homan: Every Media ‘Hit Piece’ Fuels ‘My Fire’—Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal
29. If Reporters Ignore Reality, Of Course We Can’t Trust Them To Report On It—Mary Rooke, DCNF
30. MAGA World Fires Up New One-Stop Shop Consulting Firm—Reagan Reese, DCNF
General Affairs
31. We’ll Know Causes Of Surge In Autism By September, RFK Jr. Vows—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
32. Reversing The Decline: Christianity Showing Signs Of Rebounding In America—Carrie Sheffield, The Daily Signal
