Europe Weighs More Ukraine Support as Trump Waives Sanctions

Ukraine reported receiving no advance warning before Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region on Monday, Oct. 19, after President Volodymyr Zelensky said US intelligence sharing had resumed.

The latest attacks damaged more than 10 energy facilities and left at least 550,000 households without electricity, Zelensky said.

For European governments promising to maintain support for Ukraine, the attack sharpened an immediate problem: funding and weapons pledges must translate into protection while Washington eases economic pressure on Moscow and Kyiv reports delays in American missile deliveries.

Europe has outlined several responses, including further sanctions, accelerated British air-defense supplies, and Belgian fighter-jet deliveries. But Ukraine’s request for another €70 billion ($78 billion) in 2027 remains unresolved.

Intelligence resumes, but missile deliveries remain disputed

Zelensky told NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview published Sunday, Oct. 18 that US intelligence cooperation was working again after an interruption.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio disputed that account on Monday, saying Washington had not paused intelligence sharing. The competing statements leave uncertainty over which information was interrupted and why Ukraine received no warning before the latest attack. 

Intelligence is only one part of Ukraine’s defense against ballistic missiles as its crews also need sufficient interceptor missiles to engage incoming threats.

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In a separate Bloomberg interview on Sunday, Oct. 18, Zelensky said Washington was delaying approval of some Patriot interceptors already paid for through NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (or PURL).

“The American side approved the delivery of only some of them, but not the rest. And this is not a technical issue,” he said.

Zelensky clarified that Ukraine was receiving 12 Patriot interceptors a month, approximately one-quarter of the monthly supply under the Biden administration. His account identifies an obstacle European funding alone cannot remove: allies can finance purchases, but American approval and delivery remain necessary.

Europe rejects sanctions relief and prepares further restrictions

The dispute over military support accompanies a widening disagreement over sanctions.

Trump’s Oct. 16 executive order waived major new sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act before the Oct. 18 implementation deadline. However, existing restrictions imposed under earlier executive orders remained in place.

The legislation gave Trump substantial powers to waive additional penalties, meaning its passage did not guarantee that Moscow would face the full measures Congress authorized. 

European leaders had already criticized his earlier Russian diesel agreement and pledged to maintain their own sanctions. Their Oct. 15-16 summit conclusions expressed regret over the temporary lifting of US diesel restrictions and called for stronger measures against Russian energy revenues and sanctions evasion. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, Oct. 16 that work was underway on a further sanctions package.

“We will not lift any sanctions until Russia ends the war,” she said, according to LaPresse. The package’s full contents and adoption date were not specified in those remarks.

Missiles and aircraft are pledged, while larger funding remains open

Britain has announced practical steps alongside its criticism of Moscow.

An Oct. 13 government statement outlined £45 million ($60 million) in surface-to-air missile deliveries, with £10 million ($13 million) accelerated to meet urgent winter needs. Ministers were also instructed to prepare further sanctions, military assistance, and financial measures.

The missiles include Lightweight Multirole Missiles used against drones. These can strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, but the announcement does not resolve the separate shortage of Patriot interceptors for ballistic threats.

Belgium has also pledged 10 F-16 fighter jets by the end of 2026, following Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s meeting with Zelensky in Brussels.

The Ukrainian president has urged Belgium to accelerate deliveries, saying F-16s were proving particularly effective against Russia’s jet-powered Shahed drones.

On financing, the European Commission transferred €2.86 billion ($3.2 billion) for military procurement on Wednesday, Oct. 14 through the existing €90 billion ($101 billion) Ukraine Support Loan.

The larger question is what follows. European leaders have asked the Commission to develop proposals to bridge Ukraine’s €70 billion ($78 billion) funding gap for 2027. That instruction opens negotiations over additional support. It does not constitute an agreed funding package.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico subsequently said Slovakia and Hungary would not participate in the initiative, underlining the political obstacles to securing the money. 

AfD uses Trump’s Russia deals to challenge Europe’s position

European governments also face domestic opponents invoking Trump’s approach as a model.

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany has argued that Berlin should pursue its own Russian energy agreements rather than maintain the existing policy.

In an Oct. 15 statement, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla called for the undamaged Nord Stream pipeline to return to operation and questioned why Trump alone should be allowed to make deals with Russia during an energy crisis.

AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance also sought a joint vote in Saxony-Anhalt backing renewed Russian energy supplies, Frankfurter Rundschau reported.

Such a regional vote cannot overturn national or EU sanctions, but it demonstrates how Washington’s decisions are being used to challenge them politically.

Europe’s response now depends on adopting further restrictions, supplying promised weapons, and agreeing how to finance another year of Ukrainian resistance.

Monday’s attack exposed the urgency of those decisions, particularly where European money still depends on American authorization to become usable military support.