Europe’s role in Ukraine
When France’s army chief, Gen. Fabien Mandon, told the nation last week that protecting itself and Europe in the face of Russian aggression meant accepting that young French people might die, it did not go well.
France needs a spirit that “accepts that we will have to suffer to protect what we are,” General Mandon said. Officials on the left and right accused him of “warmongering.”
All of this unfolded before the latest push by the U.S. to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But as I watched European leaders hurry into the diplomatic fray, I thought about what my colleague Roger Cohen wrote about the fallout from General Mandon’s words.
“The psychological adjustment to something resembling a war footing in states that once formed the European Union to put an end to war will not be quick or easy,” Roger wrote.
Europe seems to be making headway with President Trump on Ukraine for now. But how far can you get with diplomacy when you are still developing the defense capabilities needed to back it up? And when the societies you represent might not even be interested in building those capabilities?
European defense
Europe’s biggest and richest democracies spent much of the last three decades enjoying the peace dividend that stemmed from the end of the Cold War. Military budgets shrank. Troop and tank numbers dwindled.
My colleague Patricia Cohen has written extensively about Europe’s efforts to rearm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Military spending has increased. Procurement has been ramped up.
Even these efforts have been contentious. Economic growth in Europe has been slow for some time, so governments have had to face down political pressure to spend money on defense instead of pensions or other domestic priorities.
Budgets are one measure of a society’s will to defend itself. Another measure is more direct: How willing are citizens to serve in the armed forces? According to Patricia’s piece, the answer in many European countries seems to be: not very.
The question of how to recruit hundreds of thousands of soldiers is prompting variations on the soul-searching debate that followed General Mandon’s remarks in France.
On average, fewer than one-third of E.U. citizens say they are willing to fight for their country in a war. (The same poll found that 41 percent of Americans said they were willing, and 76 percent of Indians said they would fight.)
In my native Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, it’s 23 percent. Plans to reintroduce mandatory military service, which was abolished over a decade ago, were abandoned after bitter disagreements.
Proximity to Russia helps focus minds. In Poland, plans are underway for every man to go through military training. Finland still has conscription. So do Norway and Denmark, which recently extended it to women, too. Sweden reinstituted it in 2017. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all have variations of a draft.
But these nations are relatively small. They’re also not the countries that tend to speak most loudly for Europe at the international bargaining table.
European diplomacy
Despite the continent’s shortcomings on defense, a flurry of behind-the-scenes European diplomacy, led by Germany, France and Britain, appears to have been effective in dialing back the pro-Russian aspects of Trump’s peace plan over recent days, my colleague Michael Shear writes.
But it’s unclear whether this will have a lasting effect. Several diplomats told Michael they doubted that an agreement that satisfied Europeans would ever be accepted by Russia.
It made me think of something my colleague Andrew Kramer, our Kyiv bureau chief, told me this week: The most powerful diplomatic backup that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has is European support. He’s leaned on it after his Oval Office dressing down, after the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska and in the wake of the latest peace plan.
But Andrew also said Ukraine has expressed frustration that Europe’s diplomatic support had often come without enough military power backing it.
European rhetoric on the war has been high-minded throughout — and Zelensky has counted on that steadiness. We’ll see soon enough what that counts for at the bargaining table.
For more on the war in Ukraine:
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A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least seven people as Kremlin officials signaled they would resist changes negotiated by Ukraine to Trump’s plan. U.S. and Russian officials held talks yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
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Trump’s peace plan, widely seen as favoring Russia, touched off a firestorm in the U.S. and Europe. Now, after a weekend of talks, an amended plan seems to be coming into focus. Republicans in Congress are divided on Trump’s approach.
OTHER NEWS
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The Trump administration is pushing for the rapid construction of residential compounds for Palestinians in Israeli-controlled parts of Gaza.
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Britain’s government will present its annual budget today, a big test for the Labour Party and for Rachel Reeves, who has had a bruising tenure as the chancellor of the Exchequer.
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A volcano that erupted in Ethiopia spewed an ash cloud that drifted across Asia and caused some flight disruptions in India.
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Hamas said it had handed over the remains of an unidentified hostage found in central Gaza.
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Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to start serving a 27-year prison sentence for overseeing a failed coup plot.
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Four more people were arrested in connection with the Louvre heist last month.
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Australia’s senate suspended a right-wing lawmaker for wearing a burqa as a stunt in Parliament.
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The trade war with the U.S. and a recent strike have given Canada’s domestic wine industry a boost.
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The Ritz-Carlton opened a $3,500-a-night safari camp in Kenya. Some Maasai people said it’s blocking a wildlife corridor.
SPORTS
Football: For the first time in 17 years, a player was removed after clashing with his own teammate during a Premier League match.
Formula 1: The track remains an issue for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Cycling: An interview with the ultracyclist whose world record attempt ended in a Russian prison.
RECORD OF THE DAY
The world’s largest Afro
— After roughly two decades of growing out her hair, Jessica Martinez set a new mark with an Afro that measures 190 centimeters in circumference. When it comes to hair, she said, “I believe the bigger, the better.”
MORNING READ
To drive a black cab in London, you have to pass a test called the Knowledge. It’s a grueling examination that essentially requires memorizing thousands of city streets. For some, the testing regimen can take three years to complete.
One driver, Besart Bilalli, at first avoided the whole thing by working with Uber. But he grew frustrated by the app’s commissions. “It has come the time to move on,” he said. We followed Bilalli to see what it takes to pass the Knowledge.
AROUND THE WORLD
How the kitchen became a showpiece … in the U.S.
During the first century or so of American life, kitchens were usually hidden down a hallway at the back of a house, crammed into a basement or banished to another building. Today, kitchens serve both as a headquarters for the home and a “beautiful showpiece,” an interior designer said.
In the 1920s, architects began applying the lens of domestic science to the kitchen, with many inspired by the work of the Viennese architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky. Her compact, sleek, function-driven “Frankfurt Kitchen” feels like a forerunner of IKEA. Go back in time to see how American kitchens have changed.
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RECIPE
Hojicha, a toasted green tea from Japan with a smoky sweetness, is incorporated into a creamy custard to make this cheesecake pie. Use a metal pie plate so that the crust comes out golden brown.
WHERE IS THIS?
Farmers have noted that cows come running when there’s classical music playing. Any idea where this wholesome performance is?
TIME TO PLAY
Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.
You’re done for today. See you tomorrow! — Katrin
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Katrin Bennhold is the host of The World, the flagship global newsletter of The New York Times.
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