 The European Union does not have the necessary defence potential to independently confront Russia without support from the United States in case of a potential armed conflict, the European version of the Politico newspaper wrote. Europe is not only unprepared for potential war, it's not preparing for war. Benjamin Tallis from the German think tank DGAP said as quoted by the newspaper, former US ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried shares his opinion. The Europeans don't have the capacity to defend, Fried told Politico. The newspaper explains that since the end of the Cold War, the number of armed forces in EU countries has decreased by 2.5 times from 3.5 million troops in 1989 to 1.3 million in 2022. Moreover, a number of countries have switched from the format of compulsory military service to military service under contract. As a result, for example, the Belgian military is so short of ammunition and funding that soldiers will have to throw stones shortly after the start of any conflict. Politico points out, citing retired Belgian Armed Forces Lieutenant-General Marc Feis. Without support from the United States, Europe is unable to resist Russia in the event of a potential armed conflict. The publication concludes statements by former US President Donald Trump about his intention to reduce the level of support from Washington towards European NATO allies to raise alarm among officials of the community countries. Earlier Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that by talking about a possible armed conflict with Russia, European politicians are diverting the attention of residents of their countries from economic issues. He noted that Europeans have always been inclined to search for an external enemy.