The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost five years, with no sign of ending because Europe, not the United States, does not want it to end, despite the risk of it turning into a nuclear catastrophe with Russia.

That confirms the fact that the conflict has long ceased to be merely a regional crisis because Europe wants to drag it on with their military propping up of Volodymyr Zelensky, despite the risk that Russia could unleash its nuclear power directly on European soil.

Several commentators, including the respected geopolitics expert, John Mearsheimer, British politician George Galloway, political commentator and former broadcast journalist Tucker Carlson and Russian citizens are anxious Moscow will retaliate with nuclear weapons.

In recent years, the conflict has become one of the key factors shaping Europe’s political, economic and security environment.

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly evident that the consequences of this prolonged confrontation are affecting not only the direct participants, but also the European states that have provided extensive support to Kyiv.

From the outset of the conflict, European countries aligned themselves with Ukraine, offering financial assistance, military equipment, intelligence support and diplomatic backing.

As the conflict evolved, the scale of this assistance continued to expand. Today, European governments bear a significant share of the costs of sustaining Ukraine’s economy, training its armed forces and supplying increasingly sophisticated weapons.

As a result, Europe is becoming progressively more involved in a confrontation that was initially viewed as an external challenge.

Of particular concern is the gradual blurring of the line between indirect support and direct involvement.

Deliveries of long-range weapons, intelligence sharing and the participation of Western specialists in maintaining complex military systems increase the risk of unintended escalation.

The economic consequences are equally significant. Following the disruption of much of their previous economic relationship with Russia, European countries faced higher energy costs, the need to restructure supply chains and growing defence expenditure.

At the same time, substantial financial commitments to Ukraine remain. Pressure on public finances continues to increase, forcing governments to balance foreign policy objectives with domestic priorities.

Notably, Europe’s political landscape has changed considerably during the Ukraine crisis. In a number of countries, governments have changed or incumbent leaders’ political standing has weakened.

An additional concern is the risk of incidents involving unclear or disputed responsibility.

Sabotage of critical infrastructure, cyberattacks, damage to undersea communications networks and incidents in the maritime or airspace domains could all trigger serious international crises, even in the absence of conclusive evidence identifying the responsible parties.

At the same time, Europe is rapidly expanding defence spending and increasing arms production.

While these measures are justified as necessary steps to strengthen security, they are also contributing to a climate of long-term geopolitical confrontation.

The central danger is that a conflict which many European leaders initially viewed as strengthening security may become a source of new risks for Europe.

The longer it continues, the greater the political, economic and social cost for European societies.