Ukraine’s ex-foreign minister backs Trump on defense spending, warns diplomacy with Putin is nearly exhausted

EXCLUSIVE – NATO members committed Wednesday to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035, heeding President Donald Trump’s calls for the transatlantic military alliance to take more steps to bolster its security.

Ukraine’s former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Fox News Digital the move is a big, immediate win for Trump and would be a significant win for Europe’s future if it takes the increase in defense spending seriously and begins to deliver on the commitment.

“This is a serious lesson that Europe will have to learn. Not only investing, but also spending. Spending in a way that will allow them to show to the public that they’re making a good investment in their security and their economies and to send a message to their enemy: do not dare to attack us because we are ready, we are prepared to strike back,” he said. 

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL SAYS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE TO DO ‘MUCH, MUCH MORE’ TO INCREASE DEFENSE SPENDING

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News Digital, Kuleba bluntly assessed the state of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, arguing the current diplomatic process is “dead.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated attacks on Ukraine in recent months, targeting Kyiv with large-scale missile and drone attacks. 

The Russian strongman has refused to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by the United States and its European allies earlier this year. 

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in mid-June, Putin said he considers the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one. “In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” he told attendees to applause.

Trump has held off on imposing additional sanctions on Moscow, preferring to wait and see if his diplomatic efforts will bear fruit.

“Putin does not feel any pressure. And therefore, he does not really get why he should change his behavior,” said Kuleba. “I’m afraid diplomacy has zero chance to succeed at this stage under these circumstances, which means that there will be more killings and more destruction.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Putin’s goals remain clear: “He wants all of Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy attended the G7 summit in Canada last week, meeting with world leaders and securing nearly $2 billion in aid from Prime Minister Mark Carney. His meeting with Trump was canceled after the U.S. president left Kananaskis early, citing escalating tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel-Iran conflict.

The two met on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday and discussed the purchase of American air defense systems.

Kuleba told Fox News Digital that Trump is well-positioned to end Russia’s war. “His disruptive approach, his readiness to make rapid and strong action — these are the things that are needed to bring two sides to first, [the] negotiating table, and then to an agreement.”

The Ukrainian diplomat explained that the U.S. needs to reshuffle three things to revitalize the negotiating process: sticks, carrots and the pressure of time. 

Kuleba said Trump created the pressure of time by stating he could end the war in 24 hours and calling on both sides to sit down and negotiate.

“What happened next is that all sticks went to Ukraine and all carrots went to Russia. It has never worked like this centuries ago in the history of diplomacy. It doesn’t work like this, and it’s not going to work like this, OK, because the right way to do it is to create a pressure of time to avoid endless deliberations and to find the right balance of sticks and carrots for each side,” he told Fox News Digital.

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Trump and Putin recently spoke by phone on June 14 after Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Russian leader said he was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. 

Peace talks in Istanbul have failed to produce much other than prisoner of war exchanges as Putin doubles down on his maximalist demands. 

Kuleba said the best thing for Europe to do as negotiations stall is to continue producing and buying weapons, not only for Ukraine, but also for itself.

“For decades, Europe was relying on the United States and was going back and forth with Washington, checking every decision they were going to make, but it’s just not sustainable anymore,” he explained. “They have to learn how to take care of themselves, sorry to say it. The sooner they do it, the better for them, us and everyone else.”

“You cannot build your life knowing that America is paying for my security, Russian gas is paying for my cheap energy prices and [the] socialism that I’m building. And Chinese minerals [are] allowing me to — are paying for my industrial growths. It’s not sustainable. You cannot depend on one player in the most critical fundamentals for your life,” he added.

The European Union proposed an 18th sanctions package against Russia in June, targeting its energy and banking sectors. 

“We want peace for Ukraine. Despite weeks of diplomatic attempts, despite President Zelenskyy’s offer of an unconditional ceasefire, Russia continues to bring death and destruction to Ukraine,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas in a joint statement.

“Russia’s goal is not peace, it is to impose the rule of might. Therefore, we are ramping up pressure on Russia. Because strength is the only language that Russia will understand.”