Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have been dubbed “megalomaniacs, brothers in bullying others” by an expert, who has called on Europe to send 100,000 troops to defend Ukraine.
Britain and Europe should confront warmongering Russian leader Putin by deploying a formidable army to Ukraine and “call Trump’s bluff”, according to Professor Anthony Glees, an international expert on European Affairs. The call to action comes as Trump faces accusations of “selling out” Ukraine following his exclusion of Volodymyr Zelensky from controversial peace talks with Russia.
Trump’s proposed deal could see Putin retain control over a significant portion of Ukrainian territory—approximately one-fifth of the nation—and would leave Kyiv exposed to future aggression by withdrawing American troops post-agreement. In a fiery outburst on Wednesday, Trump further aligned himself with the Kremlin, labelling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and alleging that he had manipulated the US government “like a fiddle”.
Professor Anthony Glees, a politics professor at the University of Buckingham, has called on European leaders to learn from the mistakes of pre-World War II appeasement policies and to “stand firm” against Russian aggression. He compared the current situation to the grim period of 1938 when Western powers permitted Hitler and Mussolini to annex parts of Czechoslovakia, a policy of appeasement that ultimately led to the onset of a catastrophic world war mere months later.
Professor Glees has issued a stark warning, drawing parallels with a grim chapter of history.
He told the Mirror: “Most sensible people the length and breadth of Europe are viewing these preparatory talks with a foreboding not experienced since 1938, when the UK and France met Hitler and Mussolini at Munich to sign away lands belonging to free Czechoslovakia to try to appease the fascist dictators.
“It was sold as ‘peace with honour’ and a ‘peace in our time’. But within months Hitler swallowed all of Czechoslovakia and within a year Europe was at war and millions died. Even Neville Chamberlain doubted his own deal because he began rapid rearmament programmes on his return to the UK.”
He added: “That’s the picture Europe has before its eyes right now. A small but brave free democracy fighting for its life is forced to be a bystander as its sovereignty is destroyed by Trump and Putin, both land grabbers, both megalomaniacs, brothers in bullying others.”
He also criticised Trump, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, and Vice President JD Vance, suggesting they seemed “either clueless about what happens when free nations are sacrificed to war lords”, or more likely “couldn’t care less”. However, Professor Glees cautioned that the US might soon regret pushing away European allies, “especially if China decides to take a pop at Taiwan”.
This week, European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, convened in Paris to deliberate on the form of European support in the wake of a potential Trump deal. Starmer has put forward the idea of a joint peacekeeping force stationed in Ukraine to “guarantee the security of our continent” and act as a deterrent against any further incursions by Putin.
The UK and France have expressed their willingness to contribute troops to such a force, but other nations, including Germany and Italy, have raised concerns about the proposal. Security expert Professor Anthony Glees has endorsed Mr Starmer’s leadership on the matter, asserting that a European peacekeeping force would be a significant show of strength against Russia.
He stated: “A European force could of course be assembled and rapidly. 100,000 troops in Ukraine would demonstrate that Putin had not won. He knows this.”
Glees also praised Starmer’s stance, saying: “Starmer is bang to rights in saying we would contribute to this and also right to call Trump’s bluff and get him either to confirm the US would provide cover or in effect sign NATO’s death warrant by refusing. Now is the time for Europe to stand firm. Led by doughty Starmer and Macron with von der Leyen’s cash as their prop, they are more than a match for Putin. It’s par for the course that whiny Scholz is trying to weasel his way out of committing German help, but he’ll be out of office on Sunday.”
In a firm show of support, Mr Starmer tonight threw his weight behind Zelensky, following Trump’s acerbic personal onslaught. During a call with Ukraine‘s President, the PM unequivocally countered Mr Trump by declaring Zelensky a “democratically elected leader”.
From Downing Street, a spokesperson relayed that Mr Starmer had deemed it “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime”, akin to Winston Churchill’s stance in World War II. Next week will see Mr Starmer alongside French President Emmanuel Macron heading to Washington, disclosed by Trump’s national security advisor Michael Waltz.