As Ukraine enters its fourth year of war with Russia on Monday, Kyiv is hosting a slew of European and world leaders for a summit amid growing uncertainty over U.S. support.
US Policy Shift
Donald Trump denounced Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week as an unpopular “dictator” who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country, while the Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a “disinformation bubble”.
Beyond the war of words, U.S. officials opened direct talks with the Russian side in Saudi Arabia last week, shutting out Kyiv and Europe in a stunning change of policy on the war.
Washington has made clear it will not send troops as a security guarantee coveted by Ukraine if a peace deal emerges, placing the burden on European powers that are likely to struggle without U.S. backing.
European Unity
Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy, who has told Europe to create its own army while urging Washington to be pragmatic, has held more than a dozen phone calls since Friday, mainly with European leaders, to scope out a way forward.
“Three years after the start of Putin’s ‘three-day’ special military operation, Ukraine is alive, fighting and our country has more friends in the world than ever,” Zelenskyy told a summit of visiting leaders in Kyiv for the anniversary.
They included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Albania, Britain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey’s leaders spoke by video link. There was no immediate sign of U.S. representation.
Leaders Honour Fallen Soldiers
The visitors paid their respects to Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, standing in silence before a memorial made up of flags on Kyiv’s central square. Air raid sirens sounded as they met for talks later, though no missile strike followed.
“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died and more than six million live as refugees abroad since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion by land, sea and air, starting the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Military losses have been catastrophic, although they remain closely guarded secrets. Public Western estimates based on intelligence reports vary widely, but most say hundreds of thousands have been killed or wounded on each side.
Tragedy has touched families in every corner of Ukraine, where military funerals are commonplace in major cities and far-flung villages. People are exhausted by sleepless nights of air raid sirens.
(With inputs from Reuters)
