‘Europe Must Grow Up’: Adviser Warns Zelenskyy’s UK Visit Pitfalls

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Burson Global’s John McTernan tells Al Arabiya English that Europe is being forced into unprecedented defence solidarity as US reliability fades, pushing Brussels, London, Berlin and Paris to build a new security architecture around Ukraine.

By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk

New Delhi, December 8, 2025 — Europe’s political leadership is being pushed into a historic recalibration of its security order, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest visit to the United Kingdom has become a focal point of that shift. Senior Adviser at Burson Global, John McTernan, told Al Arabiya English that Europe is now bankrolling much of Kyiv’s government and war effort, buying American weapons through NATO channels and delivering them to Ukraine as Washington’s consistency wavers.

According to McTernan, the central question confronting European capitals is not whether to continue supporting Ukraine, but how long they can sustain the political and financial burden. This is especially true as discussions intensify over unlocking frozen Russian assets—much of which are held in Belgium—and managing the legal and financial risks that come with potential retaliation from Moscow.

European governments, he said, are debating indemnities for Belgium should Russian entities pursue court action. “It’s a very complicated situation we’re in,” McTernan noted, “and what this requires is real European solidarity.”

That solidarity is emerging out of necessity. McTernan argued that Europe is undergoing a “growing-up process” as it confronts the reality that the United States is no longer the dependable post–World War II ally it once was. While Joe Biden during his presidency was strongly committed to Ukraine, he said President Donald Trump’s support is “tepid,” and Europe must face the prospect of strategic uncertainty from Washington.

This geopolitical moment is driving a broader transformation: a Europe that can stand on its own—politically, militarily and industrially. McTernan highlighted the expansion of NATO, with formerly neutral countries joining the alliance, as a sign that collective self-defence is now anchored within Europe itself.

He argued that the backbone of the new security arrangement will rest on the trilateral core of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, with Ukraine increasingly integrated into Europe’s long-term defence planning. Zelenskyy’s visit, he said, is not just about immediate wartime support but about shaping the “bones of a new European defence and security architecture.”

As Europe braces for a turbulent geopolitical decade, Ukraine’s future—and its ability to hold the line against Russia—may well define the continent’s own strategic independence.

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