WASHINGTON — As Europe’s skies roar with the thunder of missiles and drones, and Ukraine’s trenches daily Russian assaults, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shed any remaining ambiguity: he wants all of Ukraine. His latest declaration has reignited urgency across NATO capitals, especially as European powers prepare to fill the vacuum left by a wavering United States, reported by Al Jazeera News.
“I have said many times that the Russian and Ukrainian people are one nation… In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” Putin said at the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum on June 20, echoing imperial overtones and confirming the fears of Western military planners. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added fuel by reiterating that Russia would only consider a ceasefire if Western weapons stopped flowing into Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded sharply: “Yes, he wants all of Ukraine,” he posted on Telegram. “But he’s also speaking about Belarus, the Baltics, Moldova, the Caucasus — even Kazakhstan.”
The geopolitical shockwaves have been immediate. At the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25, European leaders pledged over $35 billion in new military aid to Ukraine this year — already nearing 2023’s total. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte emphasized that Europe and Canada are now leading the charge.
Meanwhile, the United States’ stance remains muddled. At a press conference, President Donald Trump offered no firm commitments but said he would “try” to supply Patriot missile interceptors, citing competing demands from Israel and domestic needs. In May, Trump approved a limited sale of F-16 parts to Ukraine, far short of Kyiv’s repeated requests for more substantial systems.
Putin’s ambitions also reshaped NATO itself. Germany, citing Russia as an “existential threat,” unveiled a new defense doctrine. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced plans to boost military-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 — a move long demanded by Trump and now embraced amid stark realities.
On the ground, Ukraine says it is fighting nearly 700,000 Russian troops, with more than 50,000 pressing a new front near Sumy. Daily Russian assaults number close to 200, the Ukrainian General Staff reports, with territorial gains measured in meters. In one battle, Russian troops advanced 200 meters toward Sumy, only to be pushed back by twice that distance — a snapshot of the war’s grinding attrition.
The air war has grown more brutal. On June 19, a missile ripped through a residential building in Kyiv, killing 23. A drone attack days later left seven dead in the capital. In Dnipropetrovsk, 20 died and nearly 300 were injured in another Russian drone strike. “Wherever a Russian soldier steps, he brings only death and devastation,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
In response, Ukraine is escalating its own drone campaign — not only in defense but in innovation. On June 18 and 20, Ukrainian drones struck a weapons facility in Russia’s Tula region, halting production. Britain has since pledged battlefield data to Ukraine’s drone manufacturers. Norway plans to build surface drones inside Ukraine. Downing Street lauded Ukraine as the global leader in drone warfare, with designs evolving every six weeks.
Zelenskyy hopes this model will extend to missiles too. Through his “Build with Ukraine” program, he’s proposing that partner states allocate 0.25% of their GDP for defense production inside Ukraine. Among the developments: the Sapsan missile, capable of striking 500 kilometers — halfway to Moscow.
Yet Kyiv’s diplomatic push is stumbling. Slovakia blocked EU accession talks and an 18th sanctions package. Worse, Prime Minister Robert Fico floated the idea of Slovakia leaving NATO — a move that could unravel regional security and potentially push Austria into the alliance.
Europe may be uniting in defense spending, but Putin’s war is also testing the resilience of Western unity itself.
