Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia, while top US officials stayed away in a clear illustration of President Donald Trump’s lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.
The US abstained on Monday in a United Nations vote on a resolution it drafted to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after the General Assembly agreed to add language supportive of Kyiv to Washington’s text.
The US would lose if Russia won its war in Ukraine, said Finland’s president on Monday, as fears mount in Europe about Trump’s intentions three years after Moscow’s invasion.
European leaders in Kyiv to mark three years of war
Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia, while top US officials stayed away in a clear illustration of President Donald Trump’s lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.
Still reeling from Trump calling President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and seeking elections that are banned by martial law, Kyiv said it was in the final stages of agreeing a deal with Washington to provide access to its mineral wealth.
“We hope both US and UA [Ukraine] leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come,” wrote Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna on X, suggesting Kyiv is angling for a meeting with Trump soon.
The deal is at the heart of Kyiv’s bid to win US support, but officials have wrangled over its wording in the shadow of an extraordinary war of words between Trump and Zelensky, who said the US leader was living in a “disinformation bubble”.
Zelensky refused to sign an earlier draft as Washington sought $500-billion in natural wealth, protesting that Kyiv had received nowhere near that much US aid and that the draft lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needed.
A Ukrainian government source told Reuters that Kyiv awaited US feedback on the “final changes” it had sent. The source said the US did not like the idea of including wording about providing security guarantees in the text.
“We see the issue of guarantees for the talks between presidents,” said the source.
Beyond the barbs, US 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.
Zelensky, who has told Europe to create its own army while urging Washington to be pragmatic, welcomed a slew of European and other leaders to a summit in Kyiv to commemorate the start in 2022 of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
“This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace. Putin will not gift us this peace, nor will he give it to us in exchange for anything. We have to win peace with strength, wisdom and unity — with our cooperation,” he said.
The visitors 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.
Leaders of Albania, Britain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey spoke by video link. There was no sign of US representation.
“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” wrote Von der Leyen on X.
She said Ukraine could join the European Union before 2030 if it continued the speed and quality of its reforms.
The European leaders rallied around Zelensky in speeches, calling for countries on the continent to step up support for Kyiv, while some spoke of the urgent need to increase defence spending.
Washington has made clear it will not send troops as a security guarantee coveted by Kyiv if a peace deal emerges, placing the burden on European powers that are likely to struggle without US backing.
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.
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.
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.
Russia launched 185 drones against Ukraine overnight but caused no significant damage, said the Ukrainian Air Force. Kyiv said it had hit Russia’s Ryazan refinery, continuing its campaign to degrade its enemy’s oil infrastructure.
Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival Ukraine resolutions
The US abstained on Monday in a United Nations vote on a resolution it drafted to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after the General Assembly agreed to add language supportive of Kyiv to Washington’s text.
The vote was a victory for European nations concerned about US overtures to Russia by the administration of President Donald Trump in talks to end the war.
The original US draft was three paragraphs — mourning the loss of life during the “Russia-Ukraine conflict”, reiterating that the UN’s main purpose was to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes, and urging a swift end to the conflict and a lasting peace.
But European amendments added references to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the need for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with the founding UN Charter and reaffirmed the UN’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.
“Multiple resolutions ... have demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Those resolutions have failed to stop the war,” said Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea before the vote. “What we need is a resolution, marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war.”
The amended US-drafted resolution won 93 votes in favour, while 73 states abstained and eight voted no.
‘If Putin wins, US loses,’ Finnish president tells Trump
The US would lose if Russia won its war in Ukraine, said Finland’s president on Monday, as fears mount in Europe about Trump’s intentions three years after Moscow’s invasion.
“The war in Ukraine is not only about Ukrainian independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity — it is about European security, and it is about American leadership,” President Alexander Stubb told Reuters in an interview in Ukraine’s capital.
He spoke on the sidelines of an event attended by 11 foreign leaders to commemorate three years since Russia invaded its neighbour, as Kyiv seeks to consolidate support from its allies while its relationship with its largest backer, the US, hangs in the balance.
Stubb said he had no concerns about the strength of the alliance, which his country joined in 2023 after decades of balancing its foreign policy between East and West, adding that Finland was a “security provider, not a security consumer”.
“We just doubled Nato’s border with Russia. We have one of the largest militaries in Europe. We’ve always kept our defence expenditure up, and for an obvious reason, and that reason is not Stockholm, it’s Moscow.”
“If there’s an iota or an inkling of understanding that Putin wins this peace, then the United States will have lost, so I think we need to fight this to the bitter end,” he said when asked what his message to Trump would be.
Trump, Macron hold talks at White House on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron joined talks with Trump on Monday expected to cover the prospects for ending the Ukraine war amid stark differences on how to proceed.
Macron became the first European leader to visit Trump since he regained power a month ago. He was at the White House for a morning session that lasted an hour and 45 minutes, including both leaders participating in a video conference with other G7 leaders about Ukraine.
Macron, as he left the White House to walk back to the Blair House guest residence, said his welcome from Trump was “very good, very friendly”.
“We had the video conference in the Oval Office with the G7,” he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to visit Trump later in the week, amid alarm in Europe over Trump’s hardening stance toward Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year conflict. c
Macron and Starmer are expected to try to convince Trump not to rush to a ceasefire deal with Putin at any cost, keep Europe involved and discuss military guarantees to Ukraine.
Russia open for economic cooperation with US, says Putin’s envoy
Russia was open for economic cooperation with the US, Putin’s new special envoy on international economic cooperation said in response to Trump’s call for “major economic development transactions with Russia”.
“Russia is open for US-Russia economic cooperation and believes such cooperation is key for a more resilient global economy,” said envoy Kirill Dmitriev, appointed on 23 February.
UK announces sweeping package of sanctions against Russia
Britain on Monday announced what it said was its largest package of sanctions against Russia since the early days of the war in Ukraine, including companies worldwide that supply components used by the Russian military.
The package, timed to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, also targeted North Korea’s defence minister No Kwang-chol over the deployment of North Korean forces in Russia, and Kyrgyzstan-based Keremet Bank.
Britain’s Foreign Office said it was sanctioning producers and suppliers of machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods including microprocessors used in weapons systems. These were based in a range of third countries including Central Asian states, Turkey, Thailand, India and China.
Among the British government’s list of wealthy Russians included in the sanctions was billionaire businessman Roman Trotsenko.
The government also sanctioned a further 40 vessels Britain said were being used to help Russia evade sanctions by transporting its oil.
Europe must raise defence spending, says Czech PM
Europe should use money from frozen Russian assets for further military support of Ukraine and relax its fiscal rules to boost defence spending, said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Monday.
Czech defence spending must grow to 3% of gross domestic product in several years from around 2% in 2024, to reflect the new geopolitical reality, said Fiala in an address to the nation.
“President Trump has decided to completely transform US foreign policy. The speed, thrust and rhetoric are certainly surprising, but the shift of the United States away from focusing on Europe should not surprise us,” said Fiala in the speech shown live on television.
“Our fundamental aim now must be a strong Europe. A Europe which can deter Russia from further military attacks on sovereign European states.”
Fiala said Europe should relax its fiscal rules to fund defence and also use €93-billion from its post-coronavirus recovery funds for defence and related infrastructure.
“For further military support of Ukraine, we must use money from frozen Russian assets from across the entire Europe,” he said.
Spanish PM announces new €1bn aid package for Ukraine
Spain would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth €1-billion this year, said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday in Kyiv during an international meeting held on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
The package comes as part of a 10-year bilateral security and defence agreement signed in May 2024, according to a statement by Sanchez’s office. Last year, Madrid already sent more than €1-billion in aid for Ukraine’s defence.
“We’ll continue supporting Ukraine as long as necessary,” Sanchez told leaders at the international summit, emphasising the need for Ukraine’s government and the European Union to be present at any peace talks with Moscow.
“Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, and nothing about European security without Europe,” he added. DM