Zelenskyy hails ‘absolute heroism’ of Ukraine as world...

Europe-led show of solidarity on third anniversary of war comes after Donald Trump hit out at Ukrainian president. World leaders gathered in Kyiv on Monday to show their continuing support for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the “absolute heroism of our people”.

Image Credit: the Guardian [World leaders stand lined up at the top of a flight of steps in Kyiv, with the independence monument behind]

Thirteen leaders took an overnight train for a summit with Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital. They included the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb. Twenty-four joined online.

Image Credit: the Guardian [Troels Lund Poulsen and others stand looking at the memorial]

The coordinated Europe-led show of solidarity came after a torrid week, in which Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war against Russia, described Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”, and made it clear Europe would have to enforce and pay for any future peace settlement.

Image Credit: the Guardian [A woman stands in front of a large memorial to killed soldiers and civilians, including many Ukrainian flags and portraits, in the centre of Kyiv.]

There was strong collective pushback against the US president’s upside down version of recent history and a consensus that Ukraine had to take part in negotiations over its future. “The war is against Ukraine. So Ukraine has to be at the negotiating table,” Zelenskyy told the visiting leaders, saying Europe had to be there, too. He added: “Peace can’t be declared or announced.”.

Image Credit: the Guardian [Evening ceremony at the memorial to fallen defenders of Ukraine at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti.]

Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security. pic.twitter.com/Ofq7eeMs9n. US and Russian negotiators are due to hold a second round of talks soon, after a meeting last week in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The White House has said the war could end “this week” – raising fears that a quick US-Russia deal will echo Vladimir Putin’s demands that Ukraine cede territory and capitulate.

At least seven European countries announced significant new packages of economic and military support to Kyiv on Monday, with von der Leyen promising a €3.5bn (£2.9bn) payment. The Trump administration has indicated that US weapons deliveries will probably stop and has said Ukraine will have to repay any future military assistance at double the actual price.

Several EU leaders acknowledged the continent had to spend more on its own security and – as the Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, put it – “do more and talk less”. Lithuania’s defence minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, said Trump’s repeated demand for greater spending from fellow Nato member states was a necessary but “painful kick”.

She added that the “unpleasant” events of the last week, when Trump repeated Kremlin talking points and apparently dumped Ukraine as an ally, had changed the psychology of European decision-making. “When you feel your own arse is on fire, you move faster,” she said.

There was also overwhelming support for Ukraine’s EU membership and for its attempts to join Nato. The country could join the EU before 2030, von der Leyen said, if Kyiv continued its reforms at their current speed and quality. Sitting next to the Ukrainian president, Stubb, the Finnish president, said it was not up to Russia to determine which alliances Kyiv joined, or the shape of the European security order. “Putin lost this war. We will see Ukraine in Europe and in Nato,” he said.

Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s support “until the war is over and Ukraine wins”. Hours after world leaders arrived, air raid sirens rang out across the capital. Early on Sunday, Russia carried out its biggest aerial raid since its 24 February 2022 all-out attack, sending 267 drones across Ukraine’s border. At least four people were killed in strikes across the country.

On Monday, Zelenskyy, his wife, Olena, and prime ministers and presidents laid candles at a popular memorial in the centre of Kyiv to soldiers and civilians killed in Russia’s war. Afterwards, politicians posed for a symbolic group photo on the steps of the Maidan, Kyiv’s independence square and a symbol of the country’s sovereignty.

Sign up to Headlines Europe. A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day. after newsletter promotion. “We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe,” von der Leyen posted on X. “In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny.”.

Zelenskyy wrote in his anniversary address: “Three years of absolute heroism by our people. Eternal gratitude to the fallen heroes.”. Keir Starmer said the UK supported a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, adding that: “We face a once-in-a-generation moment for our collective security and values.” The British prime minister has said UK troops could be sent to Ukraine as part of a possible peacekeeping contingent, on condition the US provided a “backstop”. “Russia does not hold all the cards in this war,” Starmer told Zelenskyy by video.

The White House has categorically ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine and it is unclear what a backstop means. The Labour MP Alex Sobel said Nato countries could provide air support and impose a no-fly zone – an idea proposed in 2022. Starmer will hold talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday.