Europe joins forces to shield Zelensky from a second Trump grilling

Telegraph

a day ago

European leaders will want to form a human shield around Volodymyr Zelensky when they arrive in Washington on Monday.
The last time the Ukrainian president was in the White House's Oval Office, he was berated by his American hosts, denied lunch and ejected from the West Wing ahead of schedule.
'You don't have the cards,' Donald Trump told Mr Zelensky during their heated row.
Now, he is heading back to Washington with the whole deck.
For Kyiv's most ardent European allies, that scene in February was reminiscent of their worst nightmares.
It was a devastating blow to their hopes of aiding the war-torn country, which many believe is impossible without the help of the Americans.
From that moment, the likes of Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Rutte have acted as if they were spiritual advisers coaching Mr Zelensky through each and every encounter with Mr Trump.
Sensing that the next meeting could be the most perilous yet, the Europeans have ripped up their August holiday plans and decided to join.
For weeks, Sir Keir, the Prime Minister, David Lammy, his Foreign Secretary, and British diplomats have been cautioning against backing Mr Trump into a corner.
They feared Kyiv and Europe could easily trigger a public reaction from the US President that can't be walked back.
Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary-general, who recently called the American 'daddy', has taken a similar approach, love-bombing the American at every opportunity in the hope he maintains support for the military alliance and Ukraine.
Mr Macron, France's president, Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission's president, Alexander Stubb, Finland's president, and Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prime minister, all have their own tactics for keeping order.
They will all be flanking Mr Zelensky when he lands in Washington on Monday in a remarkable show of unity and strength.
A Western official familiar with preparations for the meeting said the leaders had all come together because Mr Trump listens to them and respects them.
They joined Mr Zelensky on a call with the US president to help drive home Ukraine and Europe's position before his Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin.
They were also there for the 90-minute debrief, where it was first raised that the Ukrainian president could travel to Washington for a similar summit.
It was on this call that it was first mooted that a European leader could join Mr Zelensky amid fears he could once again be ganged up on by the Americans.
Diplomatic sources said Britain, France and Germany had taken the lead on preparing for the meeting, especially briefing the Ukrainian delegation on how best not to upset Mr Trump.
This, according to European officials, would be extremely difficult as the US President had appeared to endorse a peace plan proposed by Putin to end the war.
Under the plan, Ukraine would surrender the eastern Donetsk region to Moscow as the price for peace.
Mr Trump also claimed he no longer backed the idea of an unconditional ceasefire paving the way for negotiations, and instead told European leaders and Mr Zelensky he favoured moving straight to a peace deal.
These proposals cross the red lines that have consistently been set out by the Ukrainian leader and his European allies.
But there was a recognition that this message couldn't be delivered directly to Mr Trump by Mr Zelensky because it would effectively set his peace efforts back to square one.
Instead, it was decided that the Europeans would be the ones to deliver the news to the US president.
One by one, it was announced that European leaders would be joining the meeting.
First came Mr Stubb, who has bonded with Mr Trump over their shared love for golf. Then Ms Meloni, the American's favourite European leader, cancelled her holiday to attend.
Mr Macron, Mr Merz, Mr Rutte and Sir Keir made their own separate announcements.
As for Mr Zelensky, he travelled to Brussels, where he would hold talks with Mrs von der Leyen and join a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing while sitting alongside the Commission
Before the call, involving dozens of European leaders, the Ukrainian president and EU figurehead went public to set out their positions.
For Mr Zelensky, it was simple, he would not cede territory not occupied by Russian forces.
'Russia is still unsuccessful in the Donetsk region and Putin has been unable to take it for 12 years. The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land,' the Ukrainian president told reporters unusually gathered on a Sunday in the Commission's Berlaymont headquarters.
It will be his task to convince Mr Trump that the demands by Putin for Donetsk are an unreasonable price for peace.
Mr Macron tried on Sunday. 'There is only one state that proposes a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia,' he said.
But the problem Mr Zelensky faces is that the Americans appear to have already decided surrendering the 30 per cent of the eastern region not occupied by Russia is an acceptable request by Moscow.
'There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there,' Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's Russia envoy, told CNN, suggesting that Putin had ended his demand for control over other Ukrainian regions where he occupies territory.
Meanwhile, Mrs von der Leyen set out Europe's position, saying: 'First, we must have strong security guarantees to protect both Ukraine and Europe's vital security interests. Ukraine must be able to uphold its sovereignty and its territorial integrity.
'There can be no limitations on Ukrainian armed forces, be it cooperation with other third countries, or assistance from other third countries – no limitations for the Ukrainian armed forces. As I have often said, Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders.'
Sunday's press conference between Mr Zelensky and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, revealed many of the points the Euro contingent will be pressing on Monday.
One, pushing back on the idea of handing over all of Donetsk to Putin. Two, demanding an end to Russia's attacks before proper talks. Three, meaningful security guarantees backed up by the US for Ukraine after peace.
The Europeans will take the lead on securing meaningful security guarantees, including from the US, for Ukraine.
Diplomatic sources believe that they have secured a major concession from Putin to allow 'Article 5-style' protections for Kyiv, referring to Nato's mutual defence clause.
Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump had agreed to join those guarantees, but added: 'There are no details how it will work.'
It will be a balancing act for all the parties involved, one wrong step could set back both Europe and Ukraine's relationships with Mr Trump.
What is clear, both Europe and Kyiv believe this is a pivotal moment that requires a demonstration of unity that even the US President cannot ignore.