Mearsheimer predicted difficult choice for Trump to help Ukraine

US President Donald Trump will soon have to either refuse aid to Ukraine or ask Congress for additional funding, University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer said on his YouTube channel.

"There is no doubt that Trump is interested in cutting off the Ukrainians if it can end the conflict. <...> He will have to decide whether he is going to get permission from Congress to continue funding the Ukrainians or supplying them with weapons, or whether he will simply abandon them. That decision will be made soon," he said.

According to Mearsheimer, Europe is not able to fully replace the United States as a military and financial sponsor of Ukraine.

“The Europeans simply do not have weapons that they could provide to Ukraine. <...> The economies of Great Britain, France and even Germany are experiencing serious problems and at the same time they are spending a lot of money to make the Ukrainian conflict last forever. <...> But I don’t think that this is politically feasible. <...> The Europeans, if they can replace the United States, <...> then, in my opinion, not for long,” the professor added.

Last year, the United States and NATO created the PURL initiative, under which European countries purchase American defense products for Ukraine. However, direct assistance from Washington is not provided.