More military support for Ukraine

Estonia wants all Nato countries to commit - as it has - to give Ukraine at least
0.25% of their output in military support.
This would raise about 120bn euros per year. Although some allies are sympathetic,
this idea has yet to win widespread backing.
Some Europe policymakers are also drawing up plans for a form of updated "lend-
lease" arrangement to loan weapons to Ukraine, just as the allies did for the USSR
during WWII. But these ideas are at an early stage.

Russian assets
Much thought is going into how best to exploit the roughly 300bn euros of frozen
Russian assets held in Western financial institutions.
Giving the money outright to Ukraine might be illegal and put European assets at risk
in other jurisdictions.
But the EU is looking at a plan to use the profits to fund military support for Ukraine.
And the UK is looking at a separate proposal to use the assets as collateral for fast-
track reparations for Ukraine.
The aim is not just to raise cash for Ukraine but also level a strategic blow against
Russia, hitting its economy hard.
So some European policymakers are thinking laterally. But tensions remain.
Many Eastern European countries are committing more military resource than their
Western counterparts. Loose-lipped German officers are upsetting allies by revealing
military secrets.
And President Emmanuel Macron of France has ruffled feathers by suggesting the
West should consider putting military boots on the ground in Ukraine, thought by
many analysts to be an unnecessary row over an implausible option.
Perhaps the biggest disagreement within European capitals is about the long-term
challenge from Russia.
A recent poll from the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank suggested
while most Europeans support Ukraine, only 1 in 10 think it can win an outright
victory.
Some analysts say this is because European governments have not understood the
broader challenge from Russia.
"There is no evidence that the highest political level has understood the scale of the
threat or tried to explain it to the public," says Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow at
Chatham House, a British think tank.
"If action comes too late to avoid disaster, it will have been because of criminal
complacency."
So will Europe rise to the challenge? Maybe there was one small hint of change this
week.
France has long been criticised for not giving Ukraine enough military support. But
President Macron - who once said Russia should not be humiliated - was in bullish
form.
"We are surely approaching a moment for Europe in which it will be necessary not to
be cowards," he said.