Europe wakes up to new apprehension tied to Russia every morning. Hardly a day passes without Russia disturbing the old continent.
Their relationship began to deteriorate with the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Europe’s capitals have grown wary of the man. Relations have been worse than they had been at point since the Second World War, including the decades when the Soviet Union loomed on Europe’s eastern frontier.
French President Emmanuel Macron went so far as to describe Europe as being in a confrontation with Russia. Macron was diplomatic in his characterization of the state of affairs between the continent he aspires to lead and Russia, which seizes every opportunity to provoke the Europeans politically and militarily.
The French president’s tone contrasted with that of Finland’s president and Denmark’s prime minister, neither of whom bothered with diplomatic niceties. Both have declared that the Europeans and Russians are more in a state of war than anything else.
Macron’s words did not come from thin air, nor did those of the Finnish president and the Danish prime minister. All three, along with other European leaders, have seen drones violate Polish airspace, Danish airspace at another, and Moldovan airspace at yet another. They watch on with their hands on their hearts and the next fresh surprise on their minds.
Russia, for its part, denies responsibility for the drones. insisting it is not violating the airspace of this or that country. Since when, however, have aggressor states admitted to infringing on the borders of their neighbors? The question remains: where are these drones coming from? Even in this age of artificial intelligence, there is no clear answer.
Europe is now in a bind. The war in Ukraine is straining its economy and exacting a heavy price, while European populations are growing weary of the costs of a war that has disrupted their very way of life.
It is no secret that since President Donald Trump entered the White House earlier this year, he has leaned closer to Russia than to Ukraine or, for that matter, to Europe as a whole. He personally blocked US weapon transfers to the Ukrainians, and when he has transferred them, they have amounted to anything like what President Joe Biden once provided, demanding immediate compensation in the form of rare minerals found in Ukrainian soil.
Europe has tried, time and again, to remind him that its bond with the United States is historical and unbreakable. They have explained that their alliance is solid and enduring. Nonetheless, Trump has shown no interest in listening, let alone in heeding, what Europeans have to say on the matter. As a result, Russia feels that, unlike his predecessors, Trump is leaning in its favor and not extending a hand to Europe. Perhaps this has emboldened Russia to feel that it has the upper hand in an eventual confrontation with the entire continent.
For decades, Europe had slept soundly on the American cushion. It had never imagined a day would come when it found that the White House had pulled that pillow away without prior warning. Under the Trump administration, Washington seems indifferent to Russia threatening European capitals, or if Russia vows retaliation should they supply Ukraine with ground forces or certain missiles. European mistrust of Washington has run so deep that, when President Volodymyr Zelensky made his second visit to the US capital, European leaders insisted on attending the meeting, fearing that Trump could impose terms harmful to Europe’s interests and security on the Ukrainian president.
The question now is: will the American cushion remain out of Europe’s reach? The answer depends on how far the confrontation Macron spoke about will go. For the first time, Americans have turned their backs on the eastern side of the Atlantic, leaving Europe without the support it had grown accustomed to since the Second World War. And for the first time, Europeans feel they are facing Russia with their backs against the wall.
