Emmanuel Macron will attempt to rally support for a “battered and bruised” Ukraine at a conference of European leaders in Paris on Monday, two years after Russia’s invasion.

The Elysee Palace meeting was called at short notice after an escalation in Russian aggression over the past few weeks. It signals the French leader’s eagerness to present himself as a European champion of Ukraine’s cause, amid growing fears that American support could wane.

“Battered and bruised, but still standing. Ukraine is fighting for itself, for its ideals, for our Europe. Our commitment at its side will not waver,” Mr Macron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron will attend, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and some 20 other European leaders including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The conference will be opened with a video address from Volodymr Zelensky.

It comes after the Ukrainian president issued an emotional appeal for Western allies to step up military aid, saying large numbers of his country’s troops would die without it.

“Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether there will be a large number of casualties depends on you, on our partners, in the Western world,” he told reporters at a press conference marking the second anniversary of the war.

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