صاحب‌خبر - Ukraine’s allies were not told in advance of Donald Trump’s decision to pause military aid, Poland’s foreign ministry has said, as rattled European politicians reaffirmed their backing for Kyiv faced with dramatic further evidence of a US policy shift. The US president’s announcement “was made without any information or consultation, neither with Nato allies nor with the Ramstein group which is involved in supporting Ukraine,” the ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński said on Tuesday. Wroński described the decision, which piles pressure on Kyiv’s remaining allies to step up alternative aid and appears intended to push Ukraine towards capitulating to Russia’s demands, as “very important” and the situation as “very serious”. Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, told a cabinet meeting in Warsaw that Europe faced unprecedented risks, including “the biggest in the last few decades when it comes to security”. Tusk said his government would have to make some “extraordinary” decisions. “A decision was announced to suspend the US aid for Ukraine, and perhaps start lifting sanctions on Russia. We don’t have any reason to think these are just words,” he said. “This puts Europe, Ukraine, Poland in a more difficult situation,” he said, adding that Warsaw was determined to “intensify activities in Europe to increase our defence capabilities” while maintaining the best possible relations with the US. Graphic shows US is the largest individual donor to Ukraine The French minister for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad, said Trump’s move had made the prospect of peace more distant because it “only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia”. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said: “Two things are now essential for peace through strength: additional aid - military and financial - for Ukraine, which is defending our freedom. And a quantum leap to strengthen our EU defence.” EU leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss a five-part, €800bn (£660bn) plan presented by the European commission to bolster Europe’s defence industry, increase military capability and help provide urgent military support for Ukraine. A spokesperson for the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, who hosted a crisis meeting of European and other leaders on Sunday, said London was “absolutely committed to securing a lasting peace in Ukraine” and was engaging with key allies. The spokesperson said the UK had already committed to provide Ukraine with £3bn a year in military aid for as long as it took and was providing a £2.26bn loan using sanctioned Russian assets. Graphic shows US and European aid to Ukraine as a share of GDP and in absolute terms The Czech Republic’s prime minister, Petr Fiala, called for a fundamental shift in European policy, saying Trump’s decision meant “we must strengthen our economic and military capabilities and take full responsibility for our own security”. Europe would have to increase significantly defence investment, he said, adding that “ensuring our security also means intensifying our support for Ukraine. We cannot allow Russia’s aggressive policy, which threatens us all, to succeed.” Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said Europe must step up assistance to Ukraine to fill the gap left by the US freeze, which followed a public bust-up in the White House between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to This is Europe Free weekly newsletter The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment Enter your email address Sign upPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “Europe must increase military aid to Ukraine to allow Ukraine to continue fighting for a just and lasting peace,” he said, adding that Tallinn had already decided to boost its assistance by 25% this year. Ukraine reacts with defiance and anger to Trump withdrawal of military aid Read more He said one option for obtaining additional resources to help Ukraine was to use Russia’s assets frozen in Europe. “Claims that there are no legal ways to use Russia’s frozen assets are unfounded,” he said. “The sole perpetrator of the war must feel pressure and the victim of the aggression must have strong support because it is the only way to force Russia to give up its goals and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine.” Denmark’s defence minster, Troels Lund Poulsen, said Ukraine was “completely dependent” on some US aid, including Patriot missiles. “So this will put Europe in a situation where we now really need to do more ourselves to help Ukraine,” he said. Only Hungary’s illiberal government struck a discordant note, with a spokesperson for the country’s Moscow-friendly prime minister, Viktor Orbán, saying the US and Hungary shared the same stance. “Instead of continuing weapons shipments and the war, a ceasefire and peace talks are needed as soon as possible,” they said.∎​