Dr. Umbach assessed Ukraine's provisional renunciation of NATO membership as a further diplomatic concession forced by US pressure. However, President Zelensky emphasized that bilateral security guarantees remain essential; according to Umbach, Europe is currently showing no explicit willingness to provide these. The expert saw room for compromise on the frozen Russian assets: Mobilizing these funds as a loan for Ukraine could have a decisive effect, as European support has been declining in recent months, and would ultimately also serve US interests.
Umbach considered the political weight of Germany, the UK, and France to be limited: Europe is reacting to Trump's initiatives without a clear strategy or concrete proposals for security guarantees. He said there is an urgent need for unified communication of European security interests to the US.