Top US officials stay away: European leaders in Kyiv mark three years of war

By Reuters
February 25, 2025
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with his wife Olena, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Latvias President Edgars Rinkevics, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Denmarks Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Swedens Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visit a makeshift memorial place displaying Ukrainian flags with the names of fallen service members, at the Independence Square, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2025. — Reuters
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with his wife Olena, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Latvia's President Edgars Rinkevics, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visit a makeshift memorial place displaying Ukrainian flags with the names of fallen service members, at the Independence Square, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2025. — Reuters

KYIV: Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia, while top U.S. officials stayed away in a clear illustration of President Donald Trump’s lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.

“We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come,” Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

Zelensky 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 U.S. representation. The European leaders called for countries on the continent to step up support for Kyiv, while some spoke of the urgent need to increase defence spending.