EU leaders say Ukraine should have freedom to decide its future
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their own future, European Union member states said on Tuesday, seeking to weigh in ahead of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump on Wednesday, before the summit in Alaska, amid fears that Washington, hitherto Ukraine's leading arms supplier, may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Kyiv.
"Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities," the leaders of all EU countries except Hungary said in a joint statement, adding: "We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests."
FEARS THAT TRUMP MAY REWARD RUSSIA
Kyiv and its European allies fear that Trump, keen to claim credit for making peace and seal business deals with Moscow, could in effect reward Russia for more than 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian territory, the last three in open warfare.
"A Ukraine capable of defending itself effectively is an integral part of any future security guarantees," the European statement said, adding that EU nations were ready to contribute further to security guarantees.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Putin's principal ally in Europe, mocked the statement from his EU counterparts.
"The fact that the EU was left on the sidelines is sad enough as it is. The only thing that could make things worse is if we started providing instructions from the bench," Orban said on X.
"The only sensible action for EU leaders is to initiate an EU-Russia summit, based on the example of the U.S.-Russia meeting."
Trump had been hardening his stance towards Moscow, agreeing to send more U.S. weapons to Ukraine and threatening hefty trade tariffs on buyers of Russian oil in an ultimatum that has now lapsed.
Even so, the prospect of Trump hosting Putin on U.S. soil for the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021 has revived fears that he might put narrow U.S. interests ahead of the security of European allies or broader geopolitics.
UKRAINE MAKES SMALL ADVANCES IN SUMY
Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine, prompting consternation in Kyiv and European capitals as virtually all the territory in question is Ukrainian.
Kyiv's military said on Monday it had retaken two villages in the eastern region of Sumy, part of a small reversal in more than a year of slow, attritional Russian gains in the southeast.
"It's tough. But we are holding back the enemy," Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, wrote on Facebook, following a meeting on Tuesday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and fellow commanders.
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has mounted a new offensive this year in Sumy after Putin demanded a "buffer zone" there.
Russian forces have meanwhile been pushing westward for months along other sections of the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontline, capturing villages almost daily, mainly in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine's authoritative Deep State mapping project shows that Russian forces control about 200 sq km (77 sq miles) of Sumy, and a total of about 114,000 sq km (44,000 sq miles) in Ukraine, including Crimea, seized in 2014.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Brussels and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; additional reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
28 minutes ago
- The Star
Russia bombards Ukrainian city hours after Washington summit
Smoke rises after overnight Russian drone and missile strikes on energy facilities in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, during Russia's war in Ukraine, August 19, 2025 in this still image from social media video obtained by REUTERS KYIV (Reuters) -Russia struck the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk overnight, leaving a thick column of smoke hovering over the city in an attack that the local mayor called a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace. The bombardment on that city as well as other locations in Ukraine was Russia's largest so far in August, according to the Ukrainian air force. It followed Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders in Washington on Monday as the U.S. president seeks an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow launched 270 drones and 10 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said. Although it said it had downed 230 of the drones, it said 16 sites were struck. "While hard work to advance peace was underway in Washington, D.C. ... Moscow continued to do the opposite of peace: more strikes and destruction," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. The governor of Poltava region, where Kremenchuk is located, said there were no casualties but nearly 1,500 households were left without electricity. The Energy Ministry said energy facilities were hit in the attack, resulting in damage and a large fire. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces hit an oil refinery supplying Ukraine's military. Kremenchuk is home to a large refinery, although the ministry did not say if this was the one that was struck. Russian officials also said a Ukrainian drone attack overnight caused fires at an oil refinery and a hospital roof in the Volgograd region. Both sides have been targeting infrastructure including oil facilities on each other's territory. "Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine," said Kremenchuk Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi. A photo posted by the mayor showed a vast, dark column of smoke billowing upwards and trailing across the sky. Maletskyi said scores of blasts shook the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure. He warned local residents not to approach or touch unexploded cluster munitions from Russian missiles which had been found in the city. A Tuesday morning drone attack by Russia on Ukraine's Chernihiv region also damaged infrastructure. Local energy official said more than 30,000 households lost power. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Anastasiia Malenko and Yuliia Dysa in KyivWriting by Max Hunder and Lidia KellyEditing by Tom Hogue, Kim Coghill and Frances Kerry)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
NATO military leaders expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine, sources say
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from damaged buildings, at the site of the Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine in this handout picture released August 18, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region/Handout via REUTERS /File Photo (Reuters) -NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine and the way forward, a U.S. official and NATO official told Reuters on Tuesday. The U.S. official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to attend the meeting virtually, but plans could still change. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chair of NATO's Military Committee has convened what the NATO source described as a regular meeting at the level of chiefs of defense. A different NATO official said the alliance's top military commander Alexus Grynkewich would brief the chiefs of defense on the results of the Alaska meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Trump says Putin 'tired' of war, but possible he doesn't want to make a deal
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin look at each other during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped Vladimir Putin was going to "be good" and move forward toward ending the war in Ukraine, but conceded it was possible the Russian president doesn't want to make a deal. "I don't think it's going to be a problem, to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they're all tired of it, but you never know," Trump said in an interview with the Fox News "Fox & Friends" program. Trump spoke the day after hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders at the White House for talks on his peace efforts, a meeting that followed his summit with Putin in Alaska last Friday. "We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks ... It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal," Trump said, adding that Putin faced a "rough situation" if that were not the case. After Monday's talks, Trump had said that he had called Putin to help set up a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy that would be followed by a trilateral meeting to include himself. Trump said in the Fox News interview he thought relations between Putin and Zelenskiy might be "a little bit better" or else he would not have pursued their one-on-one meeting. He also cited his own warm relationship with Putin even as he acknowledged the potential for a deal to fall through. "I hope President Putin is going to be good, and if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation. And I hope that ...President Zelenskiy will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also," Trump said. On security guarantees for Ukraine that Kyiv and its allies are seeking as part of any peace settlement, Trump said that while Europe was willing to commit troops in some form, the United States would not, although it could provide other assistance. "There'll be some form of security. It can't be NATO," he said. "They're willing to put people on the ground. We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you could talk about by air." Asked what assurances he could give that the U.S. troops would not be on the ground defending Ukraine's border, he said: "You have my assurance. You know, I'm president." (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Susan HeaveyEditing by Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry)
