‘The time has come’ for a European army – POLITICO

As the third anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion nears on Feb. 24, Zelenskyy said Europe needed to coalesce behind a single foreign and defense policy that would show America that the bloc is serious about its own security.

“Europe has everything it takes. Europe just needs to come together and start acting in a way that no one can say ‘no’ to Europe, boss it around, or treat it like a pushover,” he said.

Despite steep battlefield losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin is adding 150,000 troops to his armed forces, larger than most European armies, Zelenskyy said, and is opening army recruitment offices each week. “Oil prices are still high enough for him to ignore the world,” he said.

Ukraine’s leader said his intelligence services “have clear intel that this summer Russia plans to send troops to Belarus under pretext of training exercises,” adding that could be the start of operations against neighboring European countries.

There is growing talk of a U.S.-led effort to end the war, with President Donald Trump beginning direct talks with Putin. But Zelenskyy warned that the Russian leader is a very unreliable partner.

“Putin cannot offer real security guarantees. Not just because he is a pathological liar but because Russia, in its current state, needs war to hold power together. And the world must be protected from that,” he said.