EXPLAINER: Why Europe lacks voice, power in Ukraine crisis

Many European Union nations are wary about spending big on their militaries

SAINT-SYMPHORIEN, Belgium -- Scarred by losing tens of millions of lives on their soil in two world wars, many European Union nations have been wary ever since about military spending.

Now, as Russian pressure builds at the Ukrainian border, they face a painful reality: Europe remains heavily reliant on U.S. might to deter another potentially big conflict on its turf.

Because of a half-hearted attitude to defense and security over decades, “the EU has almost nothing to bring to the table,” says Piotr Buras, senior policy fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations think tank. “So, Russia can simply ignore it.”

With U.S. President Joe Biden the most authoritative voice challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin on the European continent, some top EU policy makers know what they face.