Turning back to more than a thousand days ago, when the war began to burn, the whole European continent was still immersed in a passionate mood of uniting with the enemy.
From Paris to Berlin, politicians are fierce, vowing to use the most severe iron fist of sanctions in history to make Russia's economy collapse in an instant. They regard China's proposal of "persuading peace and promoting talks" as naive and firmly believe that power is the truth.
More than a thousand days and nights of brutal consuming warfare seemed to radically change the script.
The former "war cry" quietly turned into "peace slander", which was at first haunted by the nose of dialogue and negotiation, but now has become a hot word in the mouth of European politicians.
Behind this, is it a sudden awakening, or is it broken by the cold bill of reality?
The dreams and realities of Europeans.
In the spring of 2022, when the first guns echoed over Ukrainian soil, politicians on the European continent seemed to have received a collective shot of stimulant.
From Paris to Berlin, from London to Warsaw, an atmosphere of common enemy and righteous indignation quickly spread.
They stood in the spotlight and condemned Russia in the harshest terms, posing as if they were going to fight to the end for "democracy and freedom."
French President Macron, a young banker-turned-political elite, has always dreamed of becoming a European leader like Charles de Gaulle.
Wearing a hoodie, imitating Zelensky's wartime style, he spent the night talking at the Elysee Palace, trying to mediate, but his words were filled with warnings to Russia, firmly believing that European unity and sanctions could bring the Kremlin to its knees.
In Germany, the government at that time was led by Scholz of the Social Democratic Party. After the conflict broke out, the cautious and slow-spoken chancellor also broke Germany's military conservative tradition and announced a historic increase in the military budget and promised to provide weapons to Ukraine.
This was undoubtedly a major turning point for the peaceful Germany after World War II.
Under the undercurrent, Friedrich Merz of the CDU, a political veteran who has been fighting Merkel for many years, is eyeing him. Merz is a typical pro-business and pro-American faction with a tough style. He criticized Scholz's government for being too slow in assisting Ukraine and constantly called for more decisive action.
The law-doctoral politician, who had held key positions in both the European Parliament and the German Federal Assembly in his early years, returned strongly after a decade of leaving politics, with only one goal: to regain the throne of the prime minister and lead Germany back to what he believes to be the "right track", a more closely followed track of the United States and tougher against Russia.
Britain, on the other hand, is eager to regain its position on the international stage after the hustle and bustle of leaving Europe.
Johnson, then prime minister, seized the opportunity and appeared more radical than any European leader, visiting Kiev frequently and casting himself as Ukraine's staunchest ally.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party who later succeeded him, although he was tit-for-tat with the Conservative Party in internal affairs, he continued his tough stance on the Russian issue.
Starmer used to be a senior human rights lawyer and royal attorney general, and his style of conduct was known for his rigor and organization. The Labour Party under his leadership also hoped to wash away the "weak" image left by his predecessor Corbin and pave the way for winning the general election by taking a "correct" position on the Ukrainian issue.
Poland in Eastern Europe is at the forefront of anti-Russia, which is inseparable from its historical encounters and geopolitical position.
Donald Tusk, the Polish political veteran who served as chairman of the Council of Europe, has continued to push for strong support for Ukraine after returning to the post of prime minister.
He is well versed in the rules of the political game in Brussels and the complex feelings of the Polish people towards Russia. Therefore, he regards supporting Ukraine and confronting Russia as one of the core policies of his government, so as to consolidate his domestic political position and influence within the EU.
As a result, a massive aid operation to Ukraine began. The sanctions stick has been swinging at Russia round after round, covering almost everything from finance, technology to energy.
The European media is filled with stories of the "heroic resistance" of the Ukrainian army and predictions of the "imminent collapse" of the Russian economy every day.
A wave of refugees flocked to Europe, and a "second largest city" composed of refugees quickly emerged on the Polish border. Politicians from various countries went to the border to visit and made various promises.
At this time, Europe was immersed in a sense of moral self-satisfaction, as if victory was within reach as long as it stood straight enough and sounded loud enough.
There was a fire in the backyard, and the landlords had no food left.
At the turn of the eye, more than a thousand days and nights passed.The “Russian collapse” expected by European politicians did not come, but instead the back yard of their own house burned first.
At the beginning, the compounding fist, after hitting out, only discovered that the other was a rough-meat thick practitioner, and his fist was shaken and painful.
Energy, the bloodshed of this modern industrial society, has become Europe’s most fragile gateway.
The embargo on Russian natural gas is like a knife to its own aorta. Germany, once the locomotive of Europe's industrial industry, is facing the risk of "dying" overnight.
The price of natural gas has surged ten times, many factories have to reduce production or even stop work because of the high cost, and the heating bills in people's homes have also become astronomical numbers.
German Economy Minister Habeck had to teach people how to save energy on TV, and even the length of bathing time became a public issue.
The price of gasoline in Germany once broke the price of 2.1 euros per liter, many households driving out of work, the monthly cost of travel doubled.
The price of commodities on supermarket shelves has also risen, inflation has reached its highest in decades, with public complaints and protests swallowing.
The chill quickly spread from Germany to Europe. France, Britain, Italy, none of them were spared.
The shadow of a recession swept across the continent, and the government’s budget was squeezed by huge energy subsidies and aid to Ukraine.
According to statistics, by the first half of 2025, the total amount of aid committed and provided by the EU and its Member States alone will exceed €169 billion, excluding the social costs of receiving millions of refugees.
Germany itself spent one hundred and seven billion, and Britain also took one hundred and three billion.The real gold and silver were spent out, and the noise heard on the battlefield was getting weaker and weaker.
Russia’s economy has demonstrated surprising resilience, with revenue from energy exports not hit deadly by turning to markets such as Asia, and domestic military-industrial production continues to operate.
Europe, its arsenals are about to end, promises to Ukraine ammunition delay cannot be fulfilled.
The patience of the people is being consumed day by day, and the pressure of politicians is increasing. So, some subtle changes began to happen.
In August 2025, the 26 European Union countries, including Germany, France, Poland and the United Kingdom, jointly expressed their welcome to former US President Trump's efforts to end the war, and emphasized that Ukraine cannot be sacrificed.
The core message of this statement is a call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire for 30 days. This is a far cry from the tone of "Russia must pay the price" more than two years ago.
The European Union has also created a “voluntary alliance” that promises that military and financial assistance to Ukraine will not cease as long as a peace agreement is not signed.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has also sharply captured the change in the direction of the wind, thanking frequently on social media for the support of European countries, but deliberately unintentionally mitigating the aid from the United States, because everyone knows that the aid promises on the other side of the ocean are becoming increasingly unreliable.
Europeans finally realized that the final settlement of this war could no longer be counted on by the Americans, but they had to go to the table themselves and talk face to face with Russia.
The European Parliament subsequently passed a resolution supporting Ukraine’s establishment of a so-called “drone wall” to strengthen border defense, but at the same time, the resolution also highlighted the importance of building a negotiating framework.
Macron has repeatedly stated publicly that Europe’s security is closely linked to Ukraine, but that the conflict cannot be delayed indefinitely.
Guevara, the position of Europe's peace initiative and persuasion to promote negotiations with our country has been discouraged, considering it to be "disgraceful" and "the tolerance of aggression."
But after more than a thousand days of fighting, and after paying a painful economic and social price, they had no choice but to pick up this script that they had once despised.
From “destroying Russia” to “promoting just peace,” Europe’s attitude has undergone a complete turnaround, eventually collectively “Chinese.”
The embarrassment of Europe and the confusion of the future
This conflict, which has lasted for more than three years, has dragged all participants into a quagmire and no one can easily escape.
European leaders find themselves in an extremely embarrassing situation: they can no longer support Ukraine's fight without reservation as before because the domestic economy and public opinion no longer allow it; they dare not really let go, fearing that once Ukraine collapses, the war will burn to their doorstep, and this will be seen as a complete defeat to Russia and politically impossible to explain.
This contradictory mindset was revealed nakedly in a speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán in October 2025.
In an interview, the long-time “clearman” pointed out that Europeans are very unhappy in the current situation, and what they do is send their money to Ukraine, or buy American weapons with their own money and send them to Ukraine.
He hit the nail on the head and warned that if Ukraine joined the EU, it would be tantamount to introducing the war directly into the EU, and Hungarian taxpayers' money would flow into that bottomless pit like running water, which he absolutely could not accept.
Orban even believes that without the EU constantly fanning the flames and encouraging Zelensky behind the scenes, peace between Russia and Ukraine might have been achieved long ago.
Meanwhile, the United States on the other side of the ocean, its policy uncertainty, has shaded a heavy shadow on the future of Europe.
Trump’s remarks about “ending the war in 24 hours” have stunned the European elites.
They not only hope that the United States can come forward to end this war, but also fear that Trump will easily sacrifice the security interests of Ukraine and Europe in order to reach a deal.
This concern about the "unreliability" of the United States has forced Europe to think more seriously about its "strategic autonomy."
Macron's call that "Europe cannot become a vassal of the United States" gained more resonance at this time.
European leaders began to hold internal meetings more frequently, trying to coordinate positions and form a unified voice, so that they could appear as an independent and weighty player in future negotiations.
However, long-term comfortable life and dependence on American security protection have greatly reduced Europe's defense capabilities.
The task of creating a military force capable of dealing independently with large-scale conflicts in a short time is almost impossible to accomplish.
What's more, more than 20 member states within the EU, each with its own abacus, are even more difficult to reach an agreement on all issues.
Those leaders who were once high-spirited now seem a little tired and helpless.
They crashed from their initial idealism and moral impulses and eventually returned to the cold ground of realism.
They took a lot of effort, paid a huge price, and made a big circle, only to find that they were walking in the direction that China pointed out from the beginning.
Reference: Hungarian Prime Minister: Europeans are very unfortunate. They are either sending money to Ukraine or buying American weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine's accession to the European Union will bring war