U.S.–Europe Relations

New Kiel Institute data cited by European and U.S. officials show that in 2025 European governments and EU institutions increased military aid to Ukraine by 67% and financial and humanitarian support by 59%, effectively displacing the United States as Kyiv’s main source of backing after President Trump froze new U.S. packages and pushed NATO allies to buy American weapons instead. At the Munich Security Conference, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz argued that this shift in who is paying the bills gives Europe a right to a bigger role in any peace talks, with Merz saying Europe has 'exacted unprecedented losses and costs on Moscow' and Sikorski stressing that the U.S. is 'making money on this war' while Europeans 'are spending real money.' The White House, however, continues to run the Geneva negotiation track with Russia and Ukraine and has shown little interest in formally elevating the EU, viewing its more hawkish leaders as likely to slow a settlement Trump wants to see quickly. The article situates this in a broader transatlantic rupture since Trump’s return — including his threats over NATO and Greenland and the resulting panic at Davos — even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio tries to reassure allies that the U.S. and Europe 'belong together.' For U.S. readers, the story spells out that while American intelligence, sanctions and arms sales remain central, the financial and political center of gravity in the Ukraine war is drifting toward Europe, which is beginning to assert its own priorities rather than just take cues from Washington.