Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has said that Europe is not “strong enough” to withstand the Russian invasion of Ukraine on its own and has had to rely on US help.
During a visit to Australia, Marin said that Europe’s defense must be strengthened.
“I have to be very honest with you, Europe is not strong enough right now,” she said. “We would be in trouble without the United States.”
The US is by far the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine.
Since the start of the war in February, the US has provided $18.6 billion in support, a research briefing last month by the UK House of Commons said.
The second largest donor is the European Union, followed by the United Kingdom, says the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. But their contributions seem small compared to those of the US.
And with European countries’ military stockpiles depleting as they supply Ukraine, Marin said more must be done to strengthen European defenses.
“The United States has given a lot of weapons, a lot of financial aid, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe is still not strong enough,” she said speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
“Europe is building those capabilities when it comes to European defence, the European defense industry and making sure that we can cope in different types of situations,” she said.
While in office, US President Donald Trump regularly criticized European NATO countries for not spending enough on defense.
