European leaders flocked to Ukraine on Monday to pledge their support on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, badly rattled by President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russia and public feud with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The autocrats around the world are watching very carefully whether there’s any impunity if you violate international borders or invade your neighbor, or if there is true deterrence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday, summing up the general attitude among high-ranking Western pilgrims to 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,” she declared.
“In Ukraine, about Ukraine, with Ukraine,” European Council President Antonio Costa said on social media after arriving in Kyiv.
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during his visit to Kyiv that Canada might be willing to send troops to Ukraine, although he was vague about exactly where the Canadian soldiers would be stationed.
Other Western leaders promised more military funding for Ukraine and more political support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, including firm demands for both Ukraine and Europe to have seats at the table as President Donald Trump attempts to negotiate an end to the war with President Vladimir Putin.
The list of VIP visitors to Kyiv on Monday included Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, and Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir.
Von der Leyen promised expedited delivery of $3.6 billion in EU aid by March, while Spain pledged another billion on its own, the second billion-dollar bilateral pledge from Madrid in two years. Denmark also pledged another $56.8 million in humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance, while Sweden pledged $105 million for Ukraine’s air defenses, and Norway said it would furnish more than a billion dollars for humanitarian aid and energy security.
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The European leaders visiting Kyiv, especially those from Nordic countries, stressed their belief that thwarting the Russian invasion of Ukraine was vital to restraining Russian aggression in other theaters.
“For the past three years, the Ukrainian people have been fighting for freedom and security — theirs and ours,” Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said when announcing more funding for Ukrainian air defenses. “Strengthening Ukraine’s capability to defend itself against Russian aggression also increases our security.”
“Three years after the start of Putin’s three-day ‘special military operation,’ Ukraine is alive, fighting, and our country has more friends in the world than ever before,” Zelensky declared when receiving his European visitors.
European Union (EU) foreign ministers on Monday agreed to new sanctions against Russia, the 16th round of sanctions since the war began in February 2022. The new measures included a ban on aluminum imports, a ban on the sale of video game consoles to Russia, punitive measures targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” of sanctions-evading cargo ships, and a threat to ban any third-country airline providing service to Russia from flying in the EU.
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The latter measure is significant because Russia’s domestic airlines have been struggling to meet air-travel demand without importing parts and supplies, which were blocked by earlier sanctions. The Russians have been negotiating with third-country airlines to handle domestic flights within Russia to get around those sanctions.
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on Monday and took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s comment last Tuesday that Ukraine “started” the war with Russia. Trump on Friday adjusted his position to say that Russia “attacked” Ukraine, but Zelensky and former President Joe Biden should not have allowed that to happen.
“I am proud to be here in Kyiv on the third anniversary of Putin’s invasion. I salute the continuing heroism of the Ukrainian people in resisting a vile act of unprovoked aggression and I categorically reject the bizarre untruths currently being peddled about the origins of that war,” Johnson said from Kyiv on Monday.
“I urge people to keep cool and look at the facts of the continuing U.S. support for Ukraine, under Donald Trump, and I remain convinced that Ukraine will have a great future as a free sovereign and independent nation,” Johnson added.