Europe has boosted its spending on defense in the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, but lacking in the numbers of troops at its disposal, a UK-based think tank said on Friday. In recent years, European countries also have been buying more weaponry from local producers. The continent`s NATO members have used more than half of their spending on European systems since February 2022. This is against 34% spent on US systems.

The findings of the International Institute for Security Studies (IISS) come as Donald Trump`s return to the White House has raised fears that he could disrupt European security, cut funding for Ukraine and engage in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to the detriment of Kyiv.

The IISS published its latest report as it hosts the Prague Defense Summit which sees politicians, army officials and other experts discuss ways to boost European security.