Europe’s Greatest Test: Deploy Air Defense Systems to Ukraine Now
European leaders say they stand with Ukraine, but advanced air defense systems remain in storage. The Washington summit is a test: Europe must act now or face history’s judgment.
Yerel Gündem 
WRITTEN BY YUSUF İNAN
Europe’s Greatest Test: Deploy Air Defense Systems to Ukraine Now
Between Words and Reality
European leaders will gather in Washington this week. There will be photographs, press statements, and once again the familiar refrain: “We stand with Ukraine.” Yet as Ukrainian cities continue to be pounded by Russian missiles and drones, the gap between Europe’s rhetoric and the reality on the ground grows wider. That gap is measured not in words, but in Ukrainian lives.
Ukraine Defends Europe, Not Just Itself
Russia is waging a systematic campaign to erase Ukrainian cities from the map. Water and energy infrastructure are targeted, civilians are left homeless, families are shattered. Thousands of children have lost parents, and countless families are buried under rubble.
And still, Ukraine resists. But this resistance is not just about Kyiv. It is about Berlin, Paris, Warsaw, and beyond. If Ukraine falls, Russian aggression will not stop at its borders. Europe’s eastern frontier is at stake, and so is the security of the entire transatlantic alliance.
To shield Ukraine today is to shield Europe tomorrow.
The Weapons Sitting in Storage
Europe possesses the very systems that could protect Ukraine’s skies. Germany’s IRIS-T, France and Italy’s SAMP/T Aster, Britain’s new Gravehawk, Germany’s Skyranger 30, and of course the Patriot batteries deployed with U.S. and German support. These are not theoretical. They are proven technologies, designed precisely for the threats Ukraine now faces.
Yet too many of them remain idle in European warehouses, guarded for “national security stockpiles.” The strategic question is unavoidable: What good are weapons gathering dust in storage, while Ukrainian cities are being reduced to ashes? Europe’s first line of defense is not in its depots — it is in the skies over Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
Delay Means Death
Every hesitation costs lives. With each week of delay, Russia grows bolder. Ukrainian society, exhausted by years of bombardment, risks slipping into despair. Controlled, incremental aid has become indistinguishable from indifference. And indifference emboldens the aggressor.
Europe’s caution has a price — and Ukrainians are paying it in blood.
America and Europe: Stand Together or Fall Apart
The Trump-Putin summit in Alaska produced no ceasefire, only vague gestures. Now the Washington meeting will be a test of resolve. European leaders cannot be content with symbolic unity. They must match words with weapons.
As French President Emmanuel Macron warned: “If we are not strong today, we will pay the price tomorrow.” Europe must act on that truth. To delay further is to invite disaster, not just for Ukraine but for the continent itself.
History Will Not Forgive Silence
While civilians die in Gaza and cities are leveled in Ukraine, silence is complicity. In the 21st century, tolerating civilian massacres is not just a moral failure — it is political suicide. History will judge today’s leaders not by their speeches, but by their choices.
The choice is stark: either Europe deploys the air defense systems it already has, or it will watch the same shadows gather over its own cities.
Hashtags: #Europe #Ukraine #Russia #NATO #Trump #Zelensky #Security #Washington
YUSUF İNAN / PEACE AT HOME, PEACE IN THE WORLD (*)
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(*) As Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, once said, 'Peace at Home, Peace in the World.' This timeless principle serves as a guiding light for nations striving for harmony, coexistence, and global stability.
