Could Europe's aid pledges back a ceasefire push?

What did Kyiv's partners have in place on 12 March 2025, the day after Washington and Kyiv announced they would seek a 30-day ceasefire with Russia? The announcement followed talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

A diplomatic opening

The ceasefire intention, set out on 11 March 2025, was the main diplomatic development of the moment. It was an intention to seek a truce with Russia, not an agreed one, and Moscow's response was still to come.

European support in the days before

The push came after a run of European announcements. On 6 March 2025, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced US$3.8 billion in national military funding for Ukraine in 2026, including $700 million for Dutch drone manufacturing. Norwegian and Polish leaders also announced increases in military aid.

France moved in parallel. On 6 March 2025, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France would keep sharing military intelligence with Ukraine. On 9 March 2025 he said France would use €195 million in interest from Russian assets to fund a military aid package.

Why the sequence mattered

Taken together, these steps meant that as ceasefire talks moved forward, several European governments had publicly committed further money, drones and intelligence. The Dutch figure looked ahead to 2026, while the French package drew on income from Russian assets.

The scale of European support later became clearer. By April 2025, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker, Europe had surpassed the United States in total military aid to Ukraine, with €72 billion allocated against €65 billion from the US. That was a later finding, not something measured on 12 March 2025.

On that date, the picture was of a ceasefire proposal just announced and European capitals adding to their military commitments around it.