Western leaders scrambled to back Ukraine after Friday\u2019s acrimonious meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky deepened the already yawning fault lines between Washington and many of its key allies. <\/p>\n
The remarkable Oval Office exchange highlights a tricky balancing act facing Western capitals since Trump\u2019s return to office in January: maintaining steadfast support for Zelensky and Kyiv against Russian aggression, while not alienating a famously transactional president who appears increasingly sympathetic to President Valdimir Putin, tolerates little criticism and is upturning decades of transatlantic security alliances. <\/p>\n
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met Trump in the White House on Thursday in one of the trickiest visits by a British leader to Washington in decades, spoke with both the US president and Zelensky following their shouting match, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman. <\/p>\n
Starmer \u201cretains his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,\u201d the spokeswoman said. <\/p>\n
The UK is set to host a summit of European leaders on Sunday to discuss support for Kyiv. Zelensky is expected to attend what\u2019s likely to be a much more welcoming setting for the Ukrainian leader, with Starmer having urged Trump against accepting any peace deal in Ukraine that would \u201creward\u201d Russia or its allies. <\/p>\n
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key Trump ally in Europe, also called for a summit with the US and European nations to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying that division makes the West weaker. <\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s leaders and officials have been blindsided by a staggering collapse in American support for Ukraine in the past weeks, after almost three years of ironclad backing by the previous administration of Joe Biden. Many still cannot understand why US President Donald Trump has turned so furiously on Zelensky and conceded key concessions to Putin before even starting talks. <\/p>\n
Zelensky has spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron and to European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa following his scathing exchange with Trump at the White House, according to a Ukrainian source with knowledge of the situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an aggressor, which is Russia, and an attacked people, which is Ukraine,\u201d Macron later said in a statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cNobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians do,\u201d wrote German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X. \u201cTherefore we are working on a common path to a lasting and just peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany \u2013 and on Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kaja Kallas, the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that it\u2019s \u201cclear that the free world needs a new leader.\u201d European Union leaders also issued a joint statement urging Zelensky to \u201cbe strong.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelensky has also spoken to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a source said. <\/p>\n
\u201cUkraine, you\u2019ll never walk alone,\u201d Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus\u0117da said, while Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna cautioned that if \u201cUkraine stops fighting, there will be no Ukraine.\u201d <\/p>\n
There was swift vocal support too from key US allies outside Europe. <\/p>\n
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would \u201ccontinue to stand with Ukraine.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cRussia illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom, and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all,\u201d Trudeau wrote on X. <\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s prime minister reiterated his country\u2019s support for Kyiv, saying it will \u201ccontinue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand unequivocally with Ukraine in their struggle, because we regard that as a struggle for the upholding of international law,\u201d Anthony Albanese said. <\/p>\n
A notable exception to the wave of European solidarity was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a far-right populist and Trump ally, who took to X to stand with the US president. <\/p>\n
\u201cStrong men make peace, weak men make war,\u201d Orban wrote. \u201cToday President (Trump) stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!\u201d <\/p>\n
The tense exchange with Trump boosted Zelensky\u2019s backing among many at home, with Ukraine\u2019s lawmakers rallying behind Kyiv\u2019s leader. <\/p>\n
Merezhko said there\u2019s \u201cabsolutely no doubt\u201d that the Ukrainian parliament will back Zelensky. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are united behind our president but at the same time, we hope that wisdom and common sense will prevail.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s military, who have spent more than three years holding back a far larger Russian force with the help of US and European aid, also maintained a message of defiance, at least on public channels. <\/p>\n
\u201cTrump understands the aggressive manner of negotiations and is trying to crush Zelensky,\u201d said Stanislav Buniatov, another Ukrainian military officer, in a Telegram post. \u201cThere would have been no heated talks if Trump had offered at least a ceasefire on the contact line with minimal amendments.\u201d <\/p>\n
One military officer, who goes by the callsign Aleks, said on Telegram he doesn\u2019t \u201cgive a damn\u201d about the kind of peace Trump offers. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better to fight to death than to freeze the war and then be drained again in three years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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