EU Defense Chief Echoes Trump’s ‘Peace Through Strength’ in Push to Rearm Europe

The senior official urged Europe to expand arms production and strengthen Kyiv as momentum grows for negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

A soldier fires a machine gun from a Leopard 2 tank at the Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, on Feb. 1, 2023. Martin Meissner/AP Photo

European Union (EU) Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has urged European governments to ramp up weapons production, open military stockpiles to Ukraine, and adopt a “peace through strength” approach to deter Russia, echoing a phrase heavily used by U.S. President Donald Trump in his push to revive America’s military might.

In an interview with the Financial Times published on May 27, Kubilius said Europe must move away from the production of sophisticated, boutique weapons that are difficult and expensive to mass produce and instead shift to cheaper systems that can be made quickly and at scale.