More than a dozen Europeans hung on the words of the leader of the world's greatest power, attentive to any sudden changes in his mood. From the ambassadors' lounge in the Elysée Palace on Thursday, September 4, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, accompanied by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, spent nearly two hours in a conference call with President Donald Trump, seeking to secure formal US backing for their support of Kyiv.

The Europeans pledged to offer Ukraine "security guarantees" to prevent another Russian attack should fighting cease. Trump was not, or was no longer, hostile to the idea. But the former real estate mogul, supported by his vice president, JD Vance, hesitated on Thursday to commit to Washington's contribution and its role should clashes erupt with Russian forces.

The United States stands with Europeans and Kyiv – "there is no doubt," Macron assured at a press conference alongside Zelensky after the call with the White House. In reality, Zelensky and his European allies were still pleading with the US to play a decisive military role to halt Vladimir Putin's imperial ambitions. "To prevent Putin from restarting the war, Europe's security guarantees may not be enough. We need an alliance between Europe and the United States," said the Ukrainian president in an interview with Le Point published on September 4.

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