U.S. Ambassador Warns Europe’s Post-Cold War Complacency Is Colliding With Security Reality as Ukraine War Enters Fifth Year

By Nicole Weatherholtz | Wednesday, 18 February 2026 10:55 AM EST

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker warned Wednesday that Europe’s long post-Cold War complacency is colliding with today’s security reality.

Speaking about recent meetings in Munich alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Whitaker said Europe’s anxiety stems not from U.S. commitments but from deteriorating security conditions on its own doorstep.

“Obviously, our European allies are worried not about the United States, nor should they be worried about the United States,” he said. “They’re worried about the strategic security situation here on the continent, with a war that’s going to go into its fifth year next week still raging on.”

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Whitaker noted Rubio’s message was well received by security partners and highlighted growing awareness among Europe that it must quickly rebuild military strength as the conflict persists and deterrence demands escalate.

He emphasized that the United States is moving away from retrenchment, arguing the current administration is pouring resources into defense due to a darker global security landscape than in recent years.

“The United States is investing, under President Donald Trump, dramatic resources into our defense because the world is less secure and more scary than it has been,” Whitaker said.

That investment, he added, comes paired with urgent encouragement for allies to match the pace—through tangible capability-building that strengthens NATO’s resilience and credibility.

“At the same time, we are encouraging and urging our allies to get stronger with us,” Whitaker said. “Our European allies are stepping up, but we need all of them to step up so that our alliance is even stronger.”

He identified capacity as the central challenge: many European governments are reevaluating how to rearm and modernize after years of slower economic growth and assumptions that post-Soviet stability would persist.

“ heated economies are not growing as fast as the United States,” Whitaker said. “They took a decades-long peace dividend after the fall of the Soviet Union. That obviously has turned out to be the wrong decision.”

The U.S., he argued, made a different choice—continuing investment in readiness and industrial capacity—leaving it better positioned while Europe scrambles to restore its defense base.

“The United States didn’t take that peace dividend,” Whitaker said. “We continued to invest in our capabilities. Our defense industries here in Europe are not as strong as they could be or should be.”

Still, Whitaker described the Munich talks as forward-looking and practical, focused less on blame than on timelines, production, and coordinated investment to strengthen the alliance.

“A lot of the conversations were pragmatic,” he said. “Centered on what the future holds and making sure we’re all stronger together.”