Leaders from the European Union and Canada have expressed continued backing for Ukraine during a meeting the country’s capital, as Kyiv and its supporters seek to show a unified front on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday hailed the “heroism” of his country as he welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among other senior officials.
“Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said. “I thank everyone who defends and supports it.”
The United States was noticeably absent at the talks in the Ukrainian capital, however, as uncertainty grows over Washington’s support for Kyiv under US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s push to force Ukraine to agree to a peace deal with Russia – and his decision to launch talks between senior US and Russian diplomats without the participation of Ukrainian or European leaders – have spurred growing concerns.
American officials met their Russian counterparts last week in Saudi Arabia while Trump and Zelenskyy have embarked on a bitter war of words with the US leader accusing Kyiv of starting the war and questioning the Ukrainian president’s legitimacy.
On the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion, Europe is in Kyiv.We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe.In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake.It’s Europe’s destiny.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu) 2025-02-24T05:18:04.584Z
Reporting from Kyiv on Monday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said Ukrainian leaders have made it clear that they want security guarantees as part of any deal to end the war.
“Ukraine doesn’t just want a peace deal with Russia. It wants to make sure that this never happens again,” Khan said.
Amid a threatened vacuum in US military support for Kyiv, the leaders of the 27-member EU are scheduled to meet on March 6 for a summit “to take decisions” on Ukrainian and European defence.
Von der Leyen reiterated the EU’s support for Ukraine during her visit to Kyiv on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is trying harder than ever to win the war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation, and we know what could happen next because it has already happened before”, the European Commission chief said.
“It is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It is Europe’s destiny that is at stake. So our first priority remains to empower Ukraine’s resistance.”
On Monday, the EU also approved a 16th package of sanctions against Moscow, including bans on primary aluminium imports and on third-country airlines flying to the bloc if they carry out domestic flights in Russia.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not see any way to resume “dialogue with Europe” in light of the new sanctions.
Peskov said that contrasts with searching for ways to resolve “the conflict around Ukraine, which is what we are currently doing with the Americans”. He welcomed “attempts by Washington to really understand what was the root cause of this conflict”.
Ukraine’s UN resolution passes
Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution drafted by Ukraine demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russia forces and emphasising Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said the resolution passed with “overwhelming” support.
The motion was going up against a competing resolution put forward by the US, which had called for a swift end to the war without explicitly mentioning Moscow’s aggression.
The US draft resolution also passed in the General Assembly, but only after amendments were added to the text to include condemnations of Russia.
“The US could not vote for their draft after the language condemning Russia was put into it – the US abstained – so really unusual circumstances here, but essentially [it is] a major world rebuke of the United States and Russia,” Elizondo reported.
Trump’s peace plan, which appears designed to illustrate his self-appointed role as a global dealmaker, faces resistance on both sides.
Russia said earlier that the quick end to the war that the US is trying to forge is “unacceptable”.
A ceasefire without a long-term settlement “is the path to a swift resumption of fighting and a resumption of the conflict with even more serious consequences, including consequences for Russian-US relations”, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Meanwhile, Ukraine signalled on Sunday that the break with the US might be easing.
Kyiv said a contentious proposal that would hand Washington $500bn worth of profits from Ukrainian rare earth minerals has now been taken off the table and talks on a different deal are progressing.
Zelenskyy also told a forum in Kyiv that he would resign his post if that meant peace would be achieved and his country could join NATO.
“If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that, and I also can exchange it for NATO membership for Ukraine,” he said.
