As Keir Starmer heads to Paris on Monday to meet with other European leaders for an emergency summit on Ukraine, the Prime Minister is right to acknowledge that this is a “once-in-a-generation moment for our national security”.

US President Donald Trump has essentially made it clear that the onus will be on Europe rather than America to defend Ukraine in the aftermath of any potential agreement to end the war with Russia.

The UK and other European nations now accept they will need to increase defence spending and play a greater role in Nato.

But while Sir Keir is right to suggest that momentous decisions lie ahead in the coming days, his hope that the UK can keep the US and Europe united on the topic of Ukraine may be laudable but appears overly-optimistic.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for their bilateral talks at Mariinskyi Palace, during his visit to Ukraine in January.

An optimistic take would be that Mr Trump is merely laying out a tough negotiating position to increase pressure on European allies to up their commitments. But even if that is the case, Mr Trump’s willingness to take such a stance obviously has major ramifications for Ukraine in the immediate term but also for Nato members bordering Russia who will be feeling much less confident about future American support. That also goes for the Western European nations who are scrambling for a strategy after Trump announced plans for direct talks with Putin.

The rapid shift in geopolitics has been highlighted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has suggested a new European army might be needed if the US cannot be relied on to guarantee the security of the continent.

Mr Zelensky suggested Western leaders need to wake up to the reality that “the old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had” .

If a further wake-up call was needed, America’s new priorities were made clear when Vice President JD Vance said last week that the biggest threat to Europe is not Russia but free speech issues – a frankly ludicrous position given what has been unfolding in Ukraine since Putin’s full-scale invasion began three years ago.

Nevertheless, the stance of the US is clear and Europe must react accordingly.

Keir Starmer's hopes of keeping US and Europe united on Ukraine appear over-optimistic: The Yorkshire Post says

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