The announcement by President Donald Trump that the United States would “immediately” begin negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine has plunged European politics into a deep crisis.

Before his “long and very productive” phone call with Putin on Wednesday, Trump had informed neither the Ukrainian government nor European leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only learned about it afterward from Trump himself. The Europeans received the news through social media. It appears they will also play no role in the planned negotiations.

Prior to this, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had made it unequivocally clear at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group in Brussels that it was unrealistic to expect Ukraine to return to its 2014 borders—reclaiming Crimea and Donbas—or to become a NATO member. Both of these had previously been considered non-negotiable conditions for ending the war by Kyiv and Brussels. Hegseth also emphasized that ensuring future peace would be Europe’s responsibility; the US would provide neither troops nor financial support for this purpose.

Under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, the US and Europe had jointly pursued the war against Russia. Their goal was to integrate Ukraine into NATO’s and the EU’s sphere of influence and weaken Russia strategically to ensure unrestricted access to its vast resources.

However, despite providing Ukraine with military and financial aid exceeding €200 billion ($209 billion US)—most of it from Europe—the Ukrainian army remains on the defensive. After suffering hundreds of thousands of casualties and facing increasing desertions, Ukraine is struggling even to recruit the necessary soldiers for the front line.

Now, the Europeans fear that Trump may strike a deal with Putin at their expense and without their involvement. Numerous high-ranking politicians have protested against Trump’s unilateral approach.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against excessive concessions to Russia. “We must ensure that there is no dictated peace,” he told Politico, insisting that the US must continue its military involvement.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated, “It should be clear to everyone that we cannot be left sitting at the kids’ table.” He criticized the Trump administration for revealing publicly concessions to Putin before negotiations had even begun. “From my perspective, it would have been better to discuss a potential NATO membership for Ukraine or territorial losses at the negotiating table,” he said. “Peace can only be secured from a position of strength.”