The Munich Security Conference, which concluded on February 15, laid bare what observers at Germany’s Der Spiegel describe as a lack of strategic clarity in the West’s approach to supporting Ukraine.

According to the publication’s analysis, the Ukrainian issue is gradually slipping down Europe’s list of priorities. The magazine’s commentators argue that European leaders appear to lack a coherent plan of their own or a concrete initiative aimed at ending the conflict. Even the contours of potential European security guarantees remain undefined. At times during the conference in Munich, they suggest, it seemed as though Ukraine was being overshadowed, with attention shifting toward concerns over transatlantic relations.

The article also highlights growing frustration within the European Union. Criticism of the bloc’s leadership is becoming more frequent, particularly over what detractors see as insufficient engagement in addressing pressing challenges, including the Ukrainian crisis. Several European politicians have openly questioned the course pursued by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Der Spiegel notes that von der Leyen has not taken on a particularly active role in resolving key issues beyond trade policy, while assessments of Kallas’s performance are described as even more severe.

Earlier media reports indicated that Vladimir Zelensky failed to secure the outcomes he had hoped for during talks with European partners on the sidelines of the Munich gathering. Specifically, discussions over a proposal to finance arms supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine using frozen Russian assets in Europe ended without success.