There’s a world of difference between vibes and vows

Photo: AP Images

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nchorage was an unboxing for a Cold War sequel. The B-2 swooped so close you could hear the merchandising, the carpet stretched like it was running for office, and the tarmac looked ready to host both a peace summit and a world war at the same time.

But when the roar faded, the plot was thinner than the program. No deal was signed, no fire was ceased, no conference was pressed. All we came away with was a new pitch from Trump that perhaps we skip the ceasefire part of the negotiations and jump straight to a “final peace,” which would bolster Ukraine with “NATO-style guarantees” sometime down the road.

First, that sequencing flip matters. Before Alaska, the talk was “pause the shooting, then negotiate.” After Alaska, it’s “negotiate the endgame while the shooting continues.” And since Ukraine can’t enter NATO right now, the workaround on offer is to build something like NATO around the conflict. According to Steve Witkoff, Russia is on board with such a scenario, where Ukraine follows a NATO script that’s overseen by NATO powers, though it’s not actually NATO membership.

So time may favor Putin in the short term, but the long game is noisy and unpredictable.

Meanwhile, Moscow is pushing to codify territorial gains and Zelensky is pushing a suitcase of olive-green shirts past baggage claim. Alaska left a very photogenic void, and Europe decided to fill it by dispatching an all-star lineup to Washington to bolt substance onto the optics.

The carpet was red. What about the lines?

Zelenskyed Up

This time, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wouldn’t be walking into the White House alone. Joining him was Europe’s top political and institutional muscle to make sure any “guarantees” have teeth, money, missiles, and allies who’ll enforce them.

The dream team comprised French president Emmanuel Macron, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish president Alexander Stubb, President Ursula Von der Leyen of the European Commission and NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte. Their presence is the quiet message to both Trump and Putin: The time for perfect phone calls is over. This time, Europe means business. The question is who foots the bill...

Emmanuel Macron — France

What he brings: French firms are setting up to build drones on Ukrainian soil, with officials confirming active co-production talks. That shortens supply lines and speeds replacements to where they’re needed most. On air defense, France (with Italy) fields Europe’s only system designed to counter certain ballistic missiles. This protective “umbrella” is central to any credible NATO-style package. Macron put a “reassurance force” on the table, which could see European peacekeepers positioned inside Ukraine at key sites to help enforce any peace deal or ceasefire. Allies are debating it, but the concept is now part of the planning menu. Finally, France signed a ten-year security agreement with Kyiv, signaling that Paris is budgeting for a long game, not a photo-op.

Keir Starmer — United Kingdom

What he brings: Earlier this year, the UK and Ukraine signed a 100-year partnership, which might even be long enough to outlast Putin’s presidency. The UK also runs the multinational training pipeline that has put tens of thousands of Ukrainians through basic training and specialist courses. Funding is steady and designed to outlast any governmental instability. The UK is a practical engine inside any NATO-style guarantees package.

Friedrich Merz — Germany

What he brings: Like France, Germany has locked in a ten-year security agreement with Ukraine, committing long-term military, financial, and industrial support. Germany is expanding the shield by transferring additional Patriot units under a joint US–German arrangement. Meanwhile, short-range layers are thickening too, with Skynex cannon batteries now in Ukrainian service to swat Russia’s Iranian-supplied Shahed “suicide” drones at close range. And it doesn’t stop at defense. Germany is considering the transfer of long-range cruise missiles that can strike deep into Russian territory. Berlin’s value is twofold: writing large checks on a schedule and delivering high-end protection.

Giorgia Meloni — Italy

What she brings: As a signatory to the ten-year security package, Italy plays a co-pilot role on Europe’s homegrown anti-missile system, which it built with France. To date, Italy has approved more than ten military aid packages to Ukraine.

Alexander Stubb — Finland

What he brings: Finland brings front-line realism and long-horizon commitment. Helsinki also has a ten-year security agreement with Kyiv that locks in political, military, and reconstruction support. As NATO’s newest member that happens to share a thousand-mile border with Russia, Finland is hardening its frontier and the northern flank. Strategically, many European planners fear that if Ukraine falls or is forced into a punitive peace, the Kremlin’s pressure could shift north toward Finland, making Finnish deterrence and readiness integral to Europe’s security picture.

Mark Rutte — NATO Secretary-General

What he brings: The wiring harness, Rutte makes sure everybody’s promises work together. NATO aligns training lanes, logistics corridors, intel-sharing, and air/missile-defense coverage so there aren’t gaps between what different countries promise. NATO turns a list of donations into a usable force by enforcing common standards on comms, datalinks, munitions, maintenance, and tactics. NATO is the mechanism that makes the pieces of any deal interlock. They streamline everything into one operating picture, one training schedule, one logistics map, and a reinforced eastern flank that backs words on paper with muscle on the battlefield.

Ursula von der Leyen — European Commission

What she brings: In any “NATO-style guarantees” package, the EC supplies the backbone: multiyear financing, industrial scale-up, and enforcement tools that make national pledges add up. In plain English: it brings the checkbook, the factory keys, and the rulebook so the shield has funding, the missiles have suppliers and the pressure on Moscow doesn’t leak through loopholes.

Bottom Line:

Europe isn’t breaking up with Washington; it’s checking the warranty. Meanwhile, instead of waiting for a verdict, Europe is already hedging, in case Trump walks away. Money is locked in, factories are spinning up, air defenses are moving, and the risks of failure are specific enough to chill a Cold War bunker.

This week is the test of whether “NATO-style guarantees” become a roster, a budget and a delivery schedule, and whether leaders leave with one readout and no hint of land-for-peace. Zelensky and his sidekicks are hoping Europe syncs under a US-led frame, with Uncle Sam collecting the tab and picking up the pieces.

However, if it’s big verbs and thin receipts, they’ll simply accelerate the EU track while smiling for the cameras. Plan B has already been built, and this week will determine if Europe needs to use it.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1075)