Western fuss over Trump and around Ukraine

Poland’s Tusk and Trump.

After Trump's election, the West became noticeably nervous and began making drastic moves: Poland’s Tusk to meet EU, UK, NATO leaders on Ukraine after Trump win and Biden allows US military contractors into Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans meetings with leaders from the EU, the U.K. and NATO to discuss the situation in Ukraine after Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.

Tusk said that he would host meetings in Warsaw with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte, while a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would take place in either Warsaw or London. Meetings with Nordic and Baltic leaders in Stockholm are also on the agenda, according to media reports.

The Polish prime minister said that the "new political landscape" following Trump's reelection in the U.S. is “a serious challenge for everyone” especially if the presidents of Russia and the U.S. reach an agreement on Ukraine without Kyiv being involved.

Trump has criticized the level of U.S. military and financial support to Ukraine and said during his campaign that he would seek a speedy end of the conflict.

"This new political landscape is a serious challenge for everyone, especially in the context of a possible end to the Russian-Ukrainian war," Tusk said.

Warsaw will "very intensively coordinate cooperation with countries that have a very similar view on the geopolitical and transatlantic situation and situation in Ukraine," the Polish leader said.

Tusk said he had already talked with Starmer, Macron and Scandinavian leaders to discuss "what this potential withdrawal of the United States from active policy in Ukraine means for us."

"Nobody wants the conflict to escalate," Tusk said. "At the same time, nobody wants Ukraine to weaken or even capitulate; this would be a fundamental threat to Poland and Polish interests," he said.

The Biden administration will allow U.S. military contractors to deploy to Ukraine — a policy reversal aimed at helping Kyiv maintain complex Western-provided weapons systems, a defense official told POLITICO.

The decision was made before Tuesday’s election as a way to provide Ukraine with specific technical expertise needed for weapons like F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive military issue.

It will give the Defense Department the ability to ask for a small group of American weapon contractors to bid on sending their maintainers to the war-torn country.

“Having small numbers of contractors in Ukraine conducting maintenance away from the front lines will help ensure U.S.-provided equipment can be rapidly repaired when damaged and be provided maintenance as needed,” the defense official said.

President Joe Biden has long promised that the U.S. would not put military boots on the ground in Ukraine — other than service members detailed to the American Embassy in Kyiv — despite the administration providing more than $64 billion in aid to Ukraine more than two years ago. The official said the American contractors would be working “far from the front lines” and would not be fighting Russian forces.

“They will help Ukrainian Armed Forces rapidly repair and maintain U.S.-provided equipment as needed so it can be quickly returned to the front lines,” the official said of the contractors. Each contractor or organization that successfully bids on the maintenance contracts will be responsible for their own safety, the official added.

The move comes months after the U.S. State Department decided to beef up the presence of American diplomats by adding several dozen people at the embassy in Kyiv and allowing them to travel freely throughout areas surrounding the Ukrainian capital. Shortly after Russia’s invasion, diplomats were restricted to travel within Kyiv’s city limits.

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