European leaders will join Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky for his crucial meeting with Donald Trump, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said today.
The move in relation to the key White House meeting tomorrow is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Mr Zelensky faced when he met Mr Trump in February.
The European leaders’ presence at Mr Zelensky’s side, demonstrating Europe’s support for Ukraine, could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Mr Zelensky risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Mr Trump says he wants to broker with Russia.
Ms Von der Leyen, head of the European Union‘s executive branch, posted on X that ‘at the request of President Zelensky, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.’
In a quick succession yesterday, a stream of European leaders also announced that they will be going.
They included French president Emmanuel Macron, the chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, and the secretary general of the Nato military alliance Mark Rutte.
The grouped trip underscored European leaders’ determination to ensure that Europe has a voice in Mr Trump’s attempted peace-making, after the US president’s summit on Friday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin – to which Mr Zelensky was not invited.
Sir Keir Starmer has not yet confirmed whether he will also attend tomorrow.
More to follow
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kiev yesterday during a conference call with Donald Trump and European partners after the Alaska summit
(From left) Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv after a ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting on May 10
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they meet for talks about Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday
A Russian tank fires during a practice session at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Friday
Damaged cars and buildings after a reported Ukrainian strike in Kursk, Russia, on Friday
A Russian tank at a practice on a training ground in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Friday
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin addresses senior officials t the Kremlin in Moscow yesterday
A Russian soldier carries an ammunition during a practice at a location in Ukraine on Friday
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shake hands after a joint press conference following the US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday
Volodymyr Zelensky faced a heated encounter when he met Donald Trump in February
