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‘New reality’: Zelenskyy calls for creation of ‘Armed Forces of Europe’

February 15, 2025 | | Print Article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Saturday for the creation of a unified European military force that he dubbed the “Armed Forces of Europe.”

“We must build the Armed Forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans and decisions about Europe are made in Europe,” he said while speaking at the Munich Security Conference, according to VOA News.

He also took a swipe at President Donald Trump by arguing that Ukraine and Europe must both be directly involved in any peace deals that are negotiated.

“Ukraine will never accept deals behind our backs without our involvement,” he said. “The same rule should apply to all of Europe. No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine — no decisions about Europe without Europe. We must act as Europe, not as some separate people.”

“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,” he added.

Zelenskyy’s remarks came after President Trump began negotiating a Ukraine-Russia peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week.

“President Donald Trump … [said] that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a dramatic prisoner swap,” according to PBS News.

“Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a lengthy phone call during which they committed to ‘work together, very closely’ to bring the conflict to an end and would meet in person, including perhaps in each other’s countries,” the reporting continued.

The announcement spurred massive controversy and anger from Zelenskyy and his allies throughout Europe.

“We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us,” the Ukrainian president told reporters, adding that European officials also deserve to be involved with any negotiations.

Zelenskyy’s remarks came after he claimed on Friday that Russia had struck the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with a drone late Thursday.

Zelenskyy made his accusation in an English-language X post published around approximately 2:00 am Friday.

He wrote that a “Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead” struck the power plant’s “protective shelter,” which reportedly prevents the destroyed plant’s radiation from spreading.

“This shelter was built by Ukraine together with other countries of Europe and the world, together with America – all those committed to real security for humanity,” he wrote. “The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.”

“Every night, Russia carries out such attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and cities. Russia continues to expand its army and shows no change in its deranged, anti-human state rhetoric. This means that Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations — he is preparing to continue deceiving the world. That is why there must be unified pressure from all who value life – pressure on the aggressor. Russia must be held accountable for its actions,” he added.

Dovetailing back to Zelenskyy’s Saturday remarks, the public responded to them by expressing support for the idea of Europe forming its own military coalition AND taking care of its own problems without incessant U.S. support.

Look:

Vivek Saxena
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