NATO cannot protect Europe from the Russian Federation without the USA: Alliance leaders concluded.

Three NATO countries bordering Russia are concerned that Europe lacks a sufficient defense production base and resources to withstand Russia without assistance from the USA.

High-ranking officials from Finland, Estonia, and Latvia stated this to The Independent.

According to Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, they cannot just rely on a situation where the USA remains heavily engaged in Europe.'We are not ready. This is absolutely certain. We cannot just hope for a situation where the USA remains heavily engaged in Europe,' he said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb also expressed the opinion that NATO cannot exist without the United States.'I do not think we can have NATO without the United States. Finland, which has the largest army among European countries (280,000), this week announced a new increased military budget, including the acquisition of 64 F-35A aircraft. We have this because we are concerned about Moscow,' he noted.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called for increasing Europe's defense capabilities. He emphasized the unacceptability of allowing Russia to seize territories.According to him, if one agrees that 'half of their demands will be fulfilled, it will send a bad signal to the future democratic world.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated at the EU member states leaders' summit on December 19 in Brussels that European security guarantees are insufficient for Ukraine.

'For us, real guarantees at any rate - today's or future ones - are NATO. And NATO is based on the decision of both the United States of America and European leaders,' he said.

The President noted that Ukraine wants to have security guarantees on the way to NATO, and the main 'donors of security' remain Ukraine's allies - the USA and Europe.

NATO assessed the risk of a Russian attack on the Alliance.