As the US presidential election nears closer, Brussels fears a Trump victory could leave Ukraine to fend for itself.
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00:00The result of the U.S. presidential election will impact the outcome of the war in Ukraine
00:07and by extension the security of the European Union.
00:11While Donald Trump claims he could negotiate a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow in 24
00:17hours, his return to the White House and isolationist stance suggests that Europeans might have
00:24to shoulder most of the support for Ukraine.
00:30If Trump wins the election, he just might say to Ukraine, the last batch of support
00:40that you got, well, that was the last batch.
00:43And that would cause a great problem because Europe is not ready to take over and it means
00:48that within three, four, six months, Ukraine could find itself without sufficient war material
00:54to prosecute a war.
00:56In contrast, even if U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed firm support for Ukraine,
01:03Europeans will likely be called upon to strengthen their defense capabilities.
01:08I assume that even if Harris wins the elections, that she will say to the European allies,
01:14this is your problem in the end and you will have to take over the burden of militarily
01:19supporting Ukraine.
01:20But I assume Harris will leave us time.
01:23She will do so gradually.
01:24Regardless of the U.S. election outcome, the European Union is expected to maintain its
01:30support for Kiev, but it will likely need to re-evaluate their priorities and strategy.
01:36The question is, what is in the end our strategy?
01:39The last European Council said, we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, as intensely
01:44as it takes until the liberation of all of its territory.
01:48But do our military and political leaders really believe that?
01:51If so, they should give a lot more arms and ammunition.
01:54But if actually they no longer believe that, then they should decide what is the second
01:59best option or the least bad alternative, but an alternative that is feasible.
02:04The U.S. election serves as a wake-up call for the EU.
02:08Europeans must prepare to navigate a rapidly changing world order and may need to rely
02:15more on themselves in this new geopolitical landscape.
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