European diplomats and officials are grappling with the prospect of a post-NATO world as tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. The recent US-Russia diplomatic talks have raised concerns about the future of European security, with many Ukrainians expressing little confidence in direct negotiations with Moscow.
At a conference at Cambridge University, Ukrainian politicians and experts emphasized the need for new alliances to replace the existing ones, citing the limitations of NATO’s current structure. They pointed to Finland’s Comprehensive Security Model as a potential solution, which emphasizes a whole-of-society approach to national security and creates a coherent threat perception across society.
With the US re-election of Donald Trump, many see an erosion of international trust and a loss of reliable partners in Europe. The conference attendees agreed that if any US-Russian framework is rejected by Ukraine, Europe would be left to pick up the bill for reconstruction and prosecution costs, estimated at $70-100 billion per year.
As tensions escalate, China’s position has become increasingly relevant, with analysts warning that Beijing may try to position itself as a peacemaker to avoid further entanglement in the conflict. However, many Ukrainians remain skeptical about China’s intentions, seeing it as trying to divide and weaken the American alliance.
With European security hanging in the balance, officials are left wondering if they can rely on traditional alliances or if new structures need to be put in place to ensure stability in the face of an uncertain future.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/19/ukrainians-are-looking-past-nato-to-a-european-security-architecture