If Europe desires peace, it must prepare itself for war

Politicians know the threat from Russia is real, but the public don't quite understand the danger they are in, says Sam Kiley

- By Sam Kiley

Europe's destiny will be in the hands of two, maybe three, men on Friday. Decisions taken between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and (perhaps) Volodymyr Zelensky will determine the future of the continent. The outcome can only go Europe's way if its leaders, who know this, prepare their nations for the possibility of outright war with Moscow. They need to be able to elbow the US aside, and prepare their people for the worst.

In the chaotic whirl of events around the announcement of the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska - a state the US actually bought from Russia - the terms of the meeting remain misty and mysterious.

Talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine, have been acceptable to Trump, but are not acceptable to Kyiv, or to America's European allies. There have been strong indications from Trump that territorial concessions will inevitably emerge from the talks with Putin. That's why the Europeans and Ukraine want to be in the room, and why Zelensky has said “no” ahead of time. He's also constitutionally barred from making any such concessions to the Russian invaders.

Still, there have been briefings that Zelensky may be “told” that he'll have to give up the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces - which would mean his troops falling back from the positions they hold now and giving up on cities such as Kramatorsk.

Europe's foreign ministers went into virtual sessions for crisis talks yesterday, and over the weekend, European heads of government issued a statement setting them on a potential collision course with Trump.