Foreign leaders visit Ukraine to show their support on war's 3rd anniversary

[February 24, 2025]  By JUSTIN SPIKE

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada visited Ukraine's capital Monday to mark the third anniversary of the country's war with Russia in a conspicuous show of support for Kyiv amid deepening uncertainty about the Trump administration’s commitment to helping it fend off Russia’s invasion.

Some of Ukraine's most important backers, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were among the visitors greeted at the train station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the president's chief of staff, Andrii Yermak.

In a post on X, von der Leyen wrote that Europe was in Kyiv “because Ukraine is in Europe.”

“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” she wrote.

Ukrainian and European officials have been rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s cordial approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his tough words for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a cascade of unwelcome developments for Kyiv, Trump has in recent days called Zelenskyy a dictator, suggested Ukraine is to blame for the war and ended Putin’s three-year diplomatic isolation by the United States. U.S. officials have also indicated to Ukraine that its hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably won’t get back the land that Russia’s army has occupied, amounting to nearly 20% of the country.

Meanwhile, Putin’s troops are making steady progress on the battlefield while Ukraine is grappling with shortages of troops and weapons.

Alarm bells sound in Europe as Washington changes course

The guests, also including European Council President Antonio Costa as well as the prime ministers of Northern European countries and Spain, were set to attend events dedicated to the anniversary and discuss with Zelenskyy further support for Ukraine.

The shift in Washington's policy has set off alarm bells in Europe, where governments fear being sidelined by the U.S. in efforts to secure a peace deal and are mulling how they might pick up the slack of any cut in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The changes have also placed strain on transatlantic relations.

Costa on Sunday announced that he would convene an emergency summit of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels on March 6, with Ukraine at the top of the agenda.

“We are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security,” he said in a post on social media.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are to both visit Washington this week.

EU foreign ministers on Monday approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia. The measures target Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships that it uses to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU said 74 vessels were added to its shadow fleet list.

Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 83 officials and “entities” — usually government agencies, banks or companies.

Diplomacy ramps up after record Russian drone attack

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, insisted that the U.S. cannot seal any peace deal to end the war without Ukraine or Europe being involved. She highlighted what she claimed were pro-Russian positions being taken up by the Trump administration.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa arrive at a train station on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin. But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels, where she is chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Kallas travels to Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the third anniversary was “a grim milestone.”

“More than 12,600 civilians killed, with many more injured. Entire communities reduced to rubble. Hospitals and schools destroyed,” he said in Geneva.

Trump, who is keen to shift the burden for supporting Ukraine onto Europe, has sought to follow through on his campaign promises to end the war quickly.

Ukrainian officials say they don’t trust Putin and suspect his motives. On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest single drone attack of the war, pounding Ukraine with 267 drones.

Russia's foreign ministry said Saturday that preparations for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin were underway, and U.S. officials have said that they had agreed with Moscow to reestablish diplomatic ties and restart economic cooperation.

And on Sunday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state TASS news agency that “quite a lot” of contact was ongoing between the Russian and American sides.

Asked whether the U.S. administration is acting in the interests of Russia or Ukraine’s Western backers, EU chief diplomat Kallas said: “If you look at the messages that come from the United States, then it’s clear that the Russian narrative is there very strongly represented.”

German election winner sends message of support to Kyiv

Kallas rejected Trump’s earlier inflammatory assertion that Zelenskyy was a dictator for not having held elections after his regular term expired last year, saying, “Russia hasn’t had elections in 25 years."

Ukrainian law prohibits elections being held while martial law is in place, and Zelenksyy said as recently as Sunday that after martial law is lifted, “there will be elections and people will make their choice.”

Coming off a victory in Sunday's German elections, conservative leader Friedrich Merz — also a staunch backer of Ukraine — posted on X Monday: “More than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength.“

"For a fair peace, the country that is under attack must be part of peace negotiations,” Merz wrote.

The U.K. was also expected to announce new sanctions against Russia on Monday, having earlier described them as the biggest package since the early days of the war. Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Sunday said the measures would be aimed at eroding Russia’s “military machine and reducing revenues fueling the fires of destruction in Ukraine.”

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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

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