5 Ways the United States and Europe Must Help Ukraine Now

Despite daily barrages of missiles and drones, Ukrainian society remains resilient. Although it is unlikely to recapture its lost territory, the Ukrainian military is well-positioned to continue preventing Moscow from imposing its maximalist demands on Kyiv. But until Vladimir Putin agrees to a ceasefire or peace deal, Ukraine must hold the line. Accordingly, the United States and Europe must provide better support to Ukraine to counter Russia’s ongoing ground offensive and protect Ukraine’s civilian population and critical infrastructures from Russian bombardment. Here are five ways the United States and the European Union must quickly act:

1. Help Ukraine maintain and make the best use of its F-16 fleet.

The F-16 jet is a game-changer for Ukraine — both offensively and defensively. Kyiv has more than 30 of these aircraft now out of more than 80 that have been pledged, and even more will become available as Western nations divest their F-16 programs and transition to the newer F-35. But Ukraine lacks Western “lifecycle maintenance” support for these planes. The Biden administration and NATO ignored this issue during the rapid transfer of “free” F-16s to Ukraine, but Ukraine now needs the usual package. This includes weapons employment support, supply chain support, on-site maintenance support, pilot training slots (in the United States and European countries), and most critically, extended maintenance slots (in Belgium and Greece). At a minimum, countries that fully divest F-16 programs should pass all their “leftover” supply parts and consumables to Ukraine’s air force.

2. Provide Ukraine with high-impact offensive weapon systems.

While the Tomahawk missile is the talk of the town, it seems that President Donald Trump has soured on the idea of providing such missiles to Kyiv. A Tomahawk transfer would have been tricky in any case given U.S. stockpile concerns and questions surrounding U.S. technology transfer and involvement in Ukraine’s mission planning and target selection process. Still, Washington can bolster Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities in other ways. For example, the United States could provide additional ground-launched Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles — perhaps as many as 1,000 — almost immediately, with European reimbursement funds supporting the U.S. Army’s ongoing replacement of ATACMS with the more capable Precision Strike Missile. Europeans are already financing a U.S. sale of 3,350 air-launched Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles to Ukraine, with deliveries scheduled to begin in late 2025. These weapons — designed and built by the United States specifically for Ukraine — are long-range (400km-700km), low-cost munitions. Both ERAM and ATACMS can extend the battlefield and put Russian logistics, command and control, and reserve forces at risk. This is a greater (and more realistic) solution than Tomahawks.

3. Provide Ukraine with the right defensive weapon systems.

Ukraine needs air defense assets to counter drones and cruise and ballistic missiles. For drones, Ukrainian forces need both ground- and air-based systems using inexpensive munitions. For example, 70 mm rockets produced by France’s Thales on American-made Coyote systems can defend specific high-value targets, while Ukrainian F-16s carrying U.S.-supplied APKWS II rockets can defend larger areas. For the missile threat, Ukraine will need to rely on more expensive systems such as Patriot, AMRAAM, SAMP-T, IRIS, AIM-9, and even aging AIM-7s. A steady supply of interceptors for the Patriot — Ukraine’s only reliable defense against Russian ballistic missiles — will be particularly critical as Moscow looks to continue destroying Ukrainian energy infrastructure heading into winter.

4. Maximize cyber support for Ukraine’s civilian authorities.

Under the Biden administration, the United States (through USAID) aggressively supported Ukrainian civilian cyber authorities — principally the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The Trump administration initially eliminated this assistance, then later resumed it at a reduced level. This support needs to be fully restored and eventually expanded to assist Ukraine in resisting Russian cyberattacks. The effort should include the development of regional security operations centers and associated response teams, renewed U.S. software licenses critical to defending nearly 50 government information systems, and a funding mechanism to initiate structured cyber threat intelligence sharing between the Ukrainian government and the U.S. private sector. This project would directly support U.S. technology exports by integrating American cybersecurity products and services into Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, opening markets for U.S. companies.

5. Help Ukraine prepare for future Euro-Atlantic military integration.

The Ukrainians have the largest and most powerful ground forces in Europe, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are still hampered by a “Soviet legacy” infrastructure that permeates its military recruitment and promotion, training and education, doctrine development, and judicial systems. The Soviet legacy also still affects elements of its procurement processes. If Ukraine ever gets the “green light” to join NATO or more deeply integrate with European militaries, it will need to strip out these bad habits. Many former Soviet republics took five to nine years to navigate NATO accession because of these issues. Attacking these problems now will expedite accession in the future — and it will make Ukraine’s forces more agile, transparent, effective, and “joint” today.

Rear Adm. (Ret.) Mark Montgomery is the senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he is also a senior fellow. Follow Mark on X @MarkCMontgomery. Follow CCTI and FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_CCTI. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.