Polish President Andrzej Duda has expressed serious doubts about Europe's ability to provide effective military assistance to Ukraine without the support of the United States. In an interview with Fox Business, he stressed that US aid was key to the Ukrainian resistance and without it the country would not have survived.
"The history of the last three years clearly shows that without US support, Ukraine will not survive," Duda said. According to him, if Ukraine manages to hold on, it should return to the negotiating table.
Asked about the new European plans to increase the military budget by $840 billion, the Polish president doubted the EU's determination.
"If Poland managed to increase its military spending to almost 5% of GDP in three years, then other European NATO member states can quickly reach at least 2%," he stressed, recalling that some countries in the Alliance have not yet fulfilled this commitment.
Duda expressed doubts about Europe's ability to ensure Ukraine's security in the event of a suspension of American aid.
"I would like to believe this, but experience so far shows otherwise. Since the beginning of the war, the EU has purchased so many energy resources from Russia that these funds could have been used to buy 2,445 F-35 fighter jets. This demonstrates Europe's serious dependence on Russian energy," he said.
Regarding a possible ceasefire, the Polish president warned that if clear security guarantees are not imposed, Vladimir Putin could take advantage of the situation to seize more territory.
"My main concern is that Russia will not stop there. History teaches us that Russian imperialism is predatory and cruel," he said.
Duda also commented on a possible agreement between Ukraine and the United States to extract rare earth minerals, some of which are currently under Russian occupation.
"If the occupied territories remain under Russian control, this resource will be lost to Ukraine and the West," he stressed, adding that restoring Ukrainian sovereignty is essential for the region's strategic resources.