Europe Races to Craft a Trump-Era Plan for Ukraine and Defense

European Union leaders are confronting one of the biggest challenges in the bloc’s history as an aggressive Russia looms to the east and American support wavers from the west.

On Thursday, they pledged to rise to the challenge.

Leaders gathered at a specially convened meeting in Brussels to discuss how to bolster both Europe’s own defenses and its support for Ukraine amid enormously high stakes. They must figure out how to accomplish those aims without further alienating their tempestuous allies in Washington.

At the same time, they are struggling to keep a united front even among their own member countries: Hungary did not sign onto a statement released Thursday affirming “unwavering support” for Ukraine.

Officials expressed a new sense of urgency as they promised to push for a strong peace deal for Ukraine and a more independent future for European defense.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger,” Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the E.U. executive arm, said as she walked into the gathering on Thursday alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, calling this a “watershed moment.”

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, was even blunter.

“It is about damn time,” she said. “We are ready to put, finally, our money where our mouth is.”