EU members cooling on Ukraine arms supplies – FT

EU members do not want to ramp up military aid to Ukraine, a senior bloc official has allegedly told the Financial Times.

In an opinion piece published on Monday, the British newspaper’s Europe editor, Ben Hall, described the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region as a “gamble” triggered by fears that Donald Trump would be elected US president in November and force a resolution which would be unfavorable to Kiev. 

The Ukrainian government is taking the risk because it has no options for winning militarily, given the current level of Western support and the resources it already has on hand, Hall notes.

There is a “recognition” that Western European states should send more weapons to Ukraine, but there is “no substantive discussion of options,” a senior European official reportedly told the newspaper.

Hall notes that Kiev’s goals for the Kursk offensive are predominantly political: showing Western sponsors that it is not sliding towards capitulation, boosting morale at home, and trying to seize as much territory as possible for an eventual swap during peace talks.

Considering the possibility of a Trump presidency in the US, Hall points out that bartering land is “a trade that a real estate developer turned president can get behind”. Trump has stated that he could end the hostilities within 24 hours, if elected.

Western officials have claimed that Kiev did not inform them prior to its incursion into Kursk Region though the attack has since been widely celebrated. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday lauded on X (formerly Twitter) that Russia is being “pushed now to withdraw inside [Russian] territory.”

The pressure on Ukrainian defensive positions in the Donbass region apparently hasn’t been affected by the incursion, with reports of Russian progress coming daily. Meanwhile, Kiev’s gambit is reportedly costing it the lives of some of its most experienced troops and valuable Western-donated arms. 

As of Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry estimated Ukrainian losses at over 2,000 casualties, 35 tanks and scores of other heavy weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously offered to order a ceasefire in exchange for Kiev dropping its aspiration to join NATO and withdrawing troops from territories claimed by Moscow. However, he ruled out peace talks this week, citing Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians in Kursk Region.