Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Europe should create unified Armed Forces capable of countering Russia’s growing military threat, suggesting a force of at least 3 million troops. He made the remarks during an online press-conference on 20 January, attended by Euromaidan Press.
Zelenskyy: Europe needs a 3 million-strong army to face Russia’s growing threat
Zelenskyy stated that Russia plans to have “an army of 2–2.5 million by 2030” and said Europe must be ready to reminspond.
“Therefore, taking into account that each country will, of course, retain its own sovereign army, Europe’s armed forces should be unified and ready to respond, with at least 3 million personnel,” he said. “This is based on the challenges we (Ukrainians, — Ed.) face.”
He noted that he had spoken about this idea at a major forum last year, though he could not recall whether it was at the World Economic Forum Davos or at the Munich Security Conference in Munich. A year ago in Davos he noted that no single nation can adequately defend itself against Russia's numerical superiority, later in Munich he called for the creation of the pan-European armed forces.
“Last year, I presented this proposal to European leaders at the very least,” Zelenskyy said. “A year has passed, and to be frank, not a single step has been taken toward this idea. Perhaps, given all the current challenges, it may happen now. Perhaps European leaders will give it some thought.”
He clarified that such a force would not replace national armies, but would be formed in parallel.
“I was talking about a joint, unified European Armed Forces. Why? Because the threat from Russia is clear,” he said.
Unified EU force would reinforce NATO, not replace it
Responding to a question about whether a new military-political alliance in Europe could emerge as a replacement for NATO, Zelenskyy emphasized that the goal is not to challenge the United States or dismantle NATO.
“Having European Armed Forces does not mean competing with America – no. This does not mean that NATO can or must be dismantled. Not at all. This means separate European Armed Forces,” he said, adding, “Ukraine would certainly be one of the fundamental contributors to strengthening such an army – it could be, if leaders support this idea.”
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Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine’s combat experience is already helping improve European defense capabilities. Ukraine's allies "provide us with intelligence, for example – France provides intelligence, and other countries as well. And we provide our interceptor drones – technology that has been combat-tested.”
He added that Ukraine also supplies feedback on how various weapons supplied by partners perform under real combat conditions.
“Not all of them perform very well, but they are being improved thanks to all of these processes and our engineers. We help them a lot.”
The President underscored that the idea of unified Armed Forces must be paired with broader security cooperation and technological exchange.
"This is proper security diversification – of technologies, of stockpiles, of weapons, of air defense, and many other things,” Zelenskyy added.
