The European Union failed to use 210 billion euros of Russian assets: who will save the situation for Ukraine.

According to ТСН: The situation for Ukraine is becoming more complicated due to internal disputes within the European Union and diplomatic maneuvers by US President Donald Trump's administration. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin senses this weakness and is convinced that time is on his side.

This opinion was expressed by former US Ambassador to the UN and national security advisor John Bolton in his column for The Washington Post.

Failure with Russian assets

Bolton harshly criticized the results of the last EU summit, where the leaders of the bloc failed to agree on using about 210 billion euros of frozen Russian assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine.

The diplomat emphasizes that this proves that 'the European Union is less than the sum of its parts.' Belgium, with the support of several other countries, blocked the plan due to concerns about risks, and Trump’s team reportedly tried to disrupt this initiative to use the assets for their own 'peace plan.'

'It was a clean and simple defeat for the leaders whom Vladimir Putin just days earlier had called 'pigs.' The EU's message was weak: Europe seems to support Ukraine, but not strongly,' Bolton writes.

Trump wants the Nobel Prize, not security

Bolton notes that Trump's diplomatic team (Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner) are not concerned with the substance of the deal or the security of Ukraine and NATO. Their goal is to get 'something' that could bring Trump a Nobel Peace Prize.

In the meantime, Putin is openly mocking the West, stating that Trump's new national security strategy does not even recognize Russia as an enemy.

Who can save the situation

As leaders of key countries—France, Germany, and Britain—face serious internal political problems, a leadership vacuum has emerged in Europe.

Bolton is convinced that the only person who can deal with Trump's 'objectively pro-Russian behavior' and the ineffectiveness of the EU is NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

'Rutte may be the best candidate for a leading role, considering his success in communicating with Trump (in the past) and his deep connections with European NATO members since his time as Prime Minister of the Netherlands,' the author concludes.

Bolton acknowledges: it is abnormal for a political leader of NATO to take on such a role, but 'these are abnormal times.'

In light of the escalating situation in Ukraine and the erosion of European leadership, expert opinions on possible solutions take on special significance. Contradictions in US foreign policy and internal crises in Europe create complex challenges for international security, and the sooner an effective solution is found, the better for stability in the region.