As over 100,000 rally for Ukraine, Germany announces vast defense spending increase that may upend European security policy

European leaders have for years sought to forge from their fractious ranks a robust response to a rising Russian threat — without much success. But just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin suddenly faces a continent that has rarely appeared so united.

As Europe’s biggest economy, which had long been the key obstacle to more decisive action against Russia, Germany dramatically changed course this weekend as Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a vast increase in the country’s defense spending and greenlighted arms deliveries to Ukraine. Not long after, the European Union announced it will finance and deliver weapons, even fighter jets, to Ukraine — a “watershed” move for the bloc.