Europe’s Wake-Up Call: How Trump Forced a New Era of Defense Preparedness

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Speaking to The Post from Warsaw, Poland, Vaidotas Urbelis, Lithuania’s defense policy director praised Trump for accelerating Europe’s response to security threats. He highlighted how, under Biden, decision-making was often delayed. “In political life, people tend to delay decisions — ‘OK, maybe we’ll do it after one year, maybe after two years,’” Urbelis said. “And the current language of the US administration says to Europe, ‘Do it now, make decisions right now, because that’s your responsibility.’”

 

 

The recent emergency leaders’ summit in Brussels underscored this shift in approach, reinforcing the idea that Europe must take primary responsibility for its own defense. Lithuania, a small nation bordering the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, has been at the forefront of this transformation. In January, Lithuania pledged to increase its defense spending to 6% of its GDP, becoming the first NATO country to meet Trump’s call for a 5% defense commitment. Currently, Lithuania allocates just over 3% of its GDP to defense.

 

The Baltic nations—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—have been among the most proactive NATO members in strengthening their military capabilities, recognizing their vulnerability to Russian aggression. However, their total defense budget for 2024 is approximately $5.2 billion, less than half the cost of a single U.S. aircraft carrier. None of these nations possess a single fighter jet, making their collective military capability relatively small.

 

Given these challenges, Urbelis advocates for a united front against Russia. Echoing remarks made by Lithuania’s Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė in a Fox News interview, he reinforced the need for Europe to apply unrelenting pressure on Moscow. “When you talk to Russia, it’s not like normal negotiations, that you offer something and your opponent also makes concessions and you agree in the middle,” Urbelis explained. “It’s not the way Russia negotiates. If you offer something, they will ask for more.

 

If you offer concessions, they understand that as a sign of weakness. That’s why you must put huge pressure on them, militarily, economically, financially, so that they agree on a solution that is acceptable to all. That’s what we mean by negotiating by having a gun on the table, because they don’t understand the language.”

 

Urbelis pointed out that Northern European nations, including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, are rapidly ramping up their defense efforts. “Northern Europe is moving extremely fast,” he said. “Because we are most exposed and we know what Russia means. We have lived with Russians for centuries. We know how they behave and how they negotiate.”

 

However, he warned that the rest of Europe must follow suit. “The most important kind of test will be numbers. What countries put on the table,” he said. “If we’re still below 2% [of GDP], that’s not serious.” At the same time, he stressed the importance of NATO unity, cautioning against divisions that Russia could exploit. “We should not sacrifice unity. Because what Russia wants is to divide NATO.”

 

Discussions continue over whether NATO countries will deploy troops to Ukraine and what their mandate would be. Urbelis emphasized that rules of engagement must be clearly defined. “What is even more important is not just the number of troops, but what are the rules of engagement,” he said. “If someone was to engage these forces, the response must be immediate and violent.”

 

He underscored the necessity of U.S. involvement, arguing that a strong American presence would deter Russian violations of any ceasefire or peace deal. “That’s why we need as many countries as possible and some kind of U.S. involvement. People use that word, U.S. backstop. But Russians would not dare to violate that agreement because what Russia is good at is violating all cease-fires and all peace deals,” he continued. “So not for a second can we assume that Russians will honor this cease-fire or peace agreement. Not for a second.”

 

As Europe accelerates its defense preparations, Trump’s firm stance has undeniably reshaped the geopolitical landscape, forcing NATO to confront security threats with new urgency.

 

Based on a report by NYP  2025-03-19