‘Educate Yourself’: The US, Ukraine, and Europe

Right now, 500 million Europeans are begging 300 million Americans for protection from 140 million Russians who have been unable to overcome 50 million Ukrainians for three years.”

The Feb. 27 White House confrontation between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky will certainly be considered a historic moment. For us Washingtonians, the immediate ramifications may be thousands of miles away, but I encourage us to take note of what happens in the rest of the world, if only because those events will find their way to us here at home.

After that meeting, there were some demonstrators on a local corner protesting different issues, including U.S. support of Ukraine. A woman carrying a Ukrainian flag was confronted by a man who put a finger in her face and shouted, “Educate yourself!”

As a German American, I have a unique opportunity to analyze the impact of recent events on American and European politics, as well as public perception. My dad immigrated to the U.S. from Germany. We keep strong connections to family in Europe, and I’ve been exposed to German news and opinions. A comparison of perspectives of global media, as well as the opinions of citizens in America and Germany, can be useful in our understanding of the situation in Ukraine and our reaction to it here at home.

Since the public debacle in the Oval Office, most German politicians have united around Ukraine. This comes despite a divisive recent election where the far-right, Pro-Russia Alternative for Germany Party won a record 20% of the vote. This was second only to the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) alliance. The soon-to-be ruling coalition between the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and CDU, Germany’s two main centrist parties, have agreed to an exception on the debt brake for defense spending.

The debt brake, a clause in the German constitution that constrains how much the government can borrow, limits the nation’s ability to spend on defense. Permitted to rearm only after 1955, the German military’s primary purpose was to defend against the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the U.S.S.R., Germany became more reliant on NATO. The CDU and SPD proposal is a marked change in philosophy, and other European nations have made unprecedented commitments to defense as well. Moreover, Zelensky has been welcomed with open arms by the European Union and the United Kingdom. From this perspective, Trump’s behavior may have finally given Europe the kickstart it needed to hold its own against Russia.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank, Europe spent $139 billion on Ukraine between January 2022 and December 2024. The U.S. spent $120 billion. The Department of Defense contends that number is closer to $183 billion by including U.S. military training in Europe and replenishment of U.S. weapon stocks. Europe’s latest defense commitments exceed $100 billion, far outpacing previous spending and suggesting a willingness to take on an even more autonomous role.

But it seems Europe is not about to let the U.S. have its cake and eat it too. Trump’s alignment with Russian interests is seen by most European politicians and citizens as an unprecedented but foreseeable betrayal. Without our military and economic security guarantees, why would Europe be in any hurry to give us the same influence and trade benefits we enjoyed in the past?

It appears that a new world order may be in store. A compact and united European Union will surely be a force to be reckoned with. As Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk put it, “Right now, 500 million Europeans are begging 300 million Americans for protection from 140 million Russians who have been unable to overcome 50 million Ukrainians for three years.”

Although America letting go of Europe may have some positive jumpstarting effects, a U.S. alignment with Russia poses a real danger. By villainizing Ukraine, calling Zelensky a dictator, and siding with Vladimir Putin, Trump has effectively gaslighted the American people. The war in Ukraine is about as black and white as a war can get. The forces of good and evil are clearly labeled. In Europe, this is accepted as fact by politicians and civilians alike. A dictator invaded a democratic nation unprovoked. Such a tale is familiar to Europeans and should be familiar to Americans, too. Blurring the line between dictatorship and democracy is dangerous.

Trump’s Oval Office meeting could also be interpreted as an attempt to shift the blame away from himself. His maneuvering successfully convinced some Americans to transfer the fault of war from Putin to Zelensky. Trump, a man who takes pride in his dealmaking abilities, had previously promised that he could end the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in his first 24 hours as president. This promise has not been fulfilled.

A deal may be impossible without a complete Ukrainian capitulation to Russian demands. Putin has no good reason to end the war. His economy is largely dependent on it, and swathes of traumatized soldiers returning home would be a public relations nightmare for the Russian dictator. Authoritarian nations thrive on war. It serves as fuel for their economies and propaganda machines, silencing public unrest and justifying centralized power. A peace deal made on Russian terms without security guarantees from the U.S. or Europe would be devastating. History makes that plain: after annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia violated ceasefire agreements more than 20 times.

It is ultimately our job as the American people to decide what we think of our leaders and our foreign policy. We should do our best to make decisions based on the American values of empathy, justice, and freedom. It is disturbing that empathy is being decried as a shortcoming. Billionaire Elon Musk recently said, “The fundamental weakness of Western Civilization is empathy.” Not so. Empathy is our fundamental strength. Empathy is what spawned Western democracy and is what held it together through its greatest struggles. Let us continue this tradition. Let us educate ourselves.

Jonas Koller is a junior at Peninsula High School.