Por Renan Filho · 2026-09-26
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a blistering critique of the European Union on Friday, accusing Brussels of failing to deliver on promised security guarantees and contrasting its bureaucratic inertia with the swift, sovereign action taken by the United Kingdom. Speaking after a meeting with UK Defence Secretary John Healey in Kyiv, Zelensky said the EU’s collective decision-making process had become a liability in the face of Russia’s ongoing war.
“We hear many promises from Brussels – more ammunition, faster accession, robust security guarantees – but the reality is that the EU’s internal politics slows everything down. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, acting alone, signed a historic security pact with us and has already delivered long-range missiles and training that save lives every day,” Zelensky stated, according to a transcript released by the Ukrainian presidential office.
The outburst comes days before an EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for early October, where Kyiv had hoped to finalise a bilateral security agreement under the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Diplomats in Brussels have acknowledged that several member states, notably Hungary and Slovakia, have blocked progress on new military aid packages and delayed the expansion of the European Peace Facility beyond its current €8 billion ceiling.
**Context: A Growing Divide**
The tension between Kyiv and Brussels is not new. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the EU has provided over €28 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, but deliveries have often been slow and fragmented. A leaked internal EU assessment from July 2026, seen by FORTIS NEWS, warned that the bloc’s “inability to act decisively on defence procurement” had created a “strategic gap” that Moscow was exploiting.
In contrast, the UK – which left the EU in 2020 – has pursued a bilateral approach. The “UK-Ukraine Security Pact,” signed in January 2025 during a visit by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, guarantees £2.5 billion in military aid annually until 2030, fast-tracked through national legislation and bypassing EU approval structures. The pact also includes joint naval exercises, intelligence-sharing, and a commitment to help Ukraine build its own defence industrial base through private-sector partnerships.
Zelensky’s criticism also echoes broader frustrations from Eastern European allies. Poland and the Baltic states have frequently complained that EU bureaucrats in Brussels lack the urgency and flexibility of national governments. “The EU is a supertanker; the UK is a speedboat,” one senior Polish diplomat told FORTIS NEWS on condition of anonymity. “When you are under fire, you want the speedboat.”
**FORTIS Analysis**
From a liberal-conservative standpoint, Zelensky’s rebuke reinforces the case for sovereign state action over supranational centralisation. The EU’s security apparatus is hamstrung by its own design: unanimous decision-making, political horse-trading, and a deeply embedded regulatory culture that prioritises process over results. The result is an organisation that talks grand strategy but moves at a glacial pace – exactly what a wartime ally cannot afford.
The United Kingdom’s approach, by contrast, embodies the principles of free-market pragmatism and minimal state interference where it matters. London’s security pact with Kyiv was negotiated bilaterally, signed quickly, and funded through national budgets without the endless committee meetings that characterise EU defence initiatives. Furthermore, the agreement encourages private-sector arms production in Ukraine – a free-market solution that reduces dependency on state handouts and builds long-term economic resilience.
Critically, the UK model respects national sovereignty. It does not require Ukraine to subsume its defence policy under a Brussels-based command structure, nor does it force Kyiv to wait for 27 capitals to agree. For a liberal-conservative worldview, this is not just efficient – it is morally sound. Security is best guaranteed by free nations acting in their own interest, not by bureaucratic collectives that dilute responsibility and delay action.
Some will argue that the EU’s collective weight provides greater scale and political cover for member states. But as the war in Ukraine has shown, scale without speed is worthless. Russia’s advantage lies in its ability to make quick, brutal decisions; the West must match that agility without sacrificing democratic accountability. The UK proves it can be done.