Nato chief warns Europe cannot deter Russia without US help

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Nato countries will be unable to plug the gap created by the US withholding military aid for Ukraine, the alliance’s secretary-general has warned. 

“I welcome all efforts by Canada and European allies, but the most important single decision is a decision of the US to agree a package of support, because of the magnitude and the military capabilities [of the US],” said Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.

“We are dependent on the US . . . it is vital.” 

His remarks come amid mounting disquiet in Nato about the possibility of a second Donald Trump presidency in the US and the Republican party’s veto against further aid to Kyiv, which they have tied to a dispute over Mexican border security.

The warning puts recent moves by European powers to try make up for absent US military support for Ukraine into stark perspective, and pours cold water on the notion that Europe can deter Russia alone.

For the past two days at the Munich Security Conference — an annual gathering of politicians, diplomats, military brass and intelligence chiefs — the faltering state of Ukraine’s military defence, and Putin’s apparent growing confidence, has dominated discussion.

The conference opened on Friday to news of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in a Siberian prison. On Saturday news of Ukraine’s withdrawal from the critical eastern city of Avdiivka was announced. 

Following the EU’s decision this month to deliver an additional €50bn in aid to Ukraine, attendees have discussed what steps European countries could take to offset the loss of US support.

“We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump,” said the outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte — who has been talked of as a possible successor to Stoltenberg.

“It’s up to the Americans. I’m not…