Pentagon strategist warns Europe to prepare for years of war in Ukraine

Europe must prepare for the Ukraine war to last for years while confronting a Russian state rebuilding its military, the Pentagon’s top strategist said. Elbridge Colby, left, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, speaks alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at NATO headquarters, Aug. 27, 2026. Colby told allies this week that Europe’s assumption of responsibility for its own defense is producing results and that Washington is accelerating that transition. (NATO) Europe must prepare for the war in Ukraine to last for years while confronting a Russian state rebuilding its military, the Pentagon’s top strategist said Tuesday, warning that allies face an endurance test over defense investment. Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, said there is no way to know when the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end, even as the Trump administration attempts to broker a peace settlement.

“As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and defense-industrial capacity,” Colby said during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries that coordinates military aid to Kyiv. “We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead. And we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well.” European NATO members are already undertaking their largest military buildup in decades, driven