European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

European nations have rallied behind Ukraine, saying peace in the war-torn nation can’t be resolved without Kyiv, ahead of an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump said next Friday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart on U.S. soil would focus on ending the war, now in its fourth year.

In response, Zelenskyy thanked European allies in a post on X, writing Sunday: “The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people.”

Saturday’s statement by top European leaders came after the White House confirmed the U.S. president was willing to grant Putin the one-on-one meeting Russia has long pushed for, and suggestions from Trump that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories.” That raised fears that Kyiv may be pressured into giving up land or accepting other curbs on its sovereignty.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren’t allowed to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Trump remained open to a trilateral summit with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, but for now, he will have a bilateral meeting requested by Putin.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance met Saturday with top European and Ukrainian officials at the British Foreign Secretary’s weekend residence to discuss how to end the war.

Trump previously said he would meet with Putin regardless of whether the Russian leader agreed to meet with Zelenskyy.

The Trump-Putin meeting may prove pivotal in a war that began when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there’s no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.

Saturday’s statement, signed by the president of the European Union and leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the UK, stressed the need for a “just and lasting peace” for Kyiv, including “robust and credible” security guarantees.

“Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the statement said.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” the Europeans added.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC News on Sunday that a good deal would mean preventing an emboldened Russia, and aggressors elsewhere, from trying to once again redraw borders by force.

A Trump ally and Russia hawk, Graham nevertheless said that “you can’t end a war without talking.”

“I do hope that Zelenskyy can be part of the process. I have every confidence in the world that (President Trump) is going to go to meet Putin from a position of strength, that he’s going to look out for Europe and Ukrainian needs to end this war honorably,” he said.

He argued that “Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian” soldier, but said the West should give Kyiv robust security guarantees, keep some of its forces on the ground “as trip wires,” and keep arming Ukraine “so that Russia will be deterred by the most lethal army on the continent of Europe.”

A monthlong U.S.-led push to achieve a truce in Ukraine has so far proved fruitless, with Kyiv agreeing in principle while the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.

Trump also moved up an ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. The deadline was Friday. The White House did not answer questions Saturday about possible sanctions.

The Kremlin earlier this week reiterated demands that Ukraine give up territory, abandon its bid to join NATO, and accept limits on its military, in exchange for a withdrawal of Russian troops from the rest of the country. Particularly galling for Kyiv is Moscow’s insistence that it cede pockets of eastern and southern Ukraine, the Kremlin claims to have annexed, despite lacking full military control.

Mark Galeotti, a British expert in Russian politics who heads the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, says Moscow’s tactic of encircling towns in eastern Ukraine has brought a string of territorial gains for Russia, and Putin “does not appear to feel under pressure.”

For the Kremlin, “further delaying any more serious U.S. action and the optics of a meeting with the U.S. president will already be wins,” Galeotti argued in an analysis published Sunday by the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”

Ukrainian officials previously told the AP privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraine’s inability to regain lost territories militarily. But Zelenskyy on Saturday insisted that formally ceding land was out of the question.

Galeotti argued that any deal that involves Ukraine abandoning territory would be “agonizing” and politically dangerous for Zelenskyy.

Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskyy, noted on Sunday that Kyiv will strive to boost its position ahead of the planned Trump-Putin meeting.

“Ahead lies an important week of diplomacy,” he said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that European leaders are “intensively preparing” ahead of the Alaska summit, while they “hope and expect” that Zelenskyy will be invited.

Merz told Germany’s public broadcaster ARD that he has for weeks been encouraging Washington to toughen sanctions against Russia, adding that “Putin only acts under pressure.”

Mikhail Kasyanov, Putin’s first prime minister and later a political opponent, similarly told the BBC Sunday that the Kremlin would be more willing to negotiate seriously and make some concessions when sanctions have further strained Russia’s economy.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Sunday praised Washington for taking steps such as allowing more military equipment to flow to Ukraine and imposing secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil, saying Trump “clearly is putting pressure on Putin.”

“Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin — how serious he is — on bringing this terrible war to an end,” Rutte said in an interview with ABC News.