AI Summary
5 min readIn the White House, President Donald Trump told Ukraine’s leader he was tired of footing the bill. “We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. We’ve gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss,” Trump said. The Ukrainians hardly need a lesson on grief and death and loss. But Trump’s framing of aid as a deal from which he has yet to profit is telling—and it has forced Europe to confront a question it has long avoided: can it support Ukraine alone?
The rupture between Washington and Kyiv
The relationship between the United States and Europe on Ukraine has always been a rollercoaster. Every time Trump leaned toward Russia, European diplomats rushed to pull him back. They were proud in June when they got him to sign a G7 statement pledging to strengthen sanctions on Russian oil and gas. But Trump has since changed course, embracing the Kremlin and cutting off intelligence to Ukraine. The assumption is that this is tied to the midterm elections—that Trump wants to put his thumb on the scales. But he also has a longstanding admiration for Vladimir Putin. Europeans hope this is a passing phase, that they just have to grit their teeth until things revert to normal. There is a real danger, however, that if Trump loses both houses of Congress and is humiliated, he may lash out even more, especially against countries he thinks have frustrated his plans to lower fu
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Intelligence from The Economist
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (01:04) **Opening & Context: Trump’s shifting stance on Ukraine** - Jason Palmer and Rosie Blore introduce the episode’s main topic: Europe’s capacity to support Ukraine alone as the Trump administration appears to distance itself from Kyiv.
- 2 (03:00) **Europe’s growing isolation and fiscal strain** - Diplomatic editor Anton LaGuardia explains that Europe is increasingly alone in supporting Ukraine and faces real capability gaps and domestic pressure.
- 3 (04:50) **Zelensky’s rhetorical shift and Trump’s vindictiveness** - LaGuardia analyzes how Zelensky has stopped tempering his criticism of Trump, calling the diesel deal “weak” and Europe “the real leaders.”
- 4 (06:06) **Can Europe fill the void? The money and weapons gap** - LaGuardia outlines what Europe can and cannot replace if U.S. support permanently diminishes.
- 5 (07:37) **Ukraine’s drone advantage and Europe’s political troubles** - LaGuardia explains how Ukraine has adapted with drone warfare, but losing American support would still constrain them severely.
- 6 (08:42) **The frozen Russian assets debate** - European leaders are pushing to use €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine instead of taxpayer money, but Belgium resists.
- 7 (09:15) **Midterms as a potential turning point** - LaGuardia speculates that the U.S. midterm elections could either ease or worsen the crisis.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Donald Trump’s administration is turning against Ukraine. But as European powers confront trouble at home, they are struggling to replace American support. Are US private science institutions entering a golden age? And the climb in art crime.
Guests and host:
- Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
- Shera Avi-Yonah, US business correspondent
- Vendeline von Bredow, senior Germany correspondent
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Ukraine, Witkoff, Zelenksy
- Scientific research, National Science Foundation
- Art theft, Louvre, Museum for Applied Art
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from this podcast
The Intelligence from The Economist →