The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at No. 10 Downing Street on Thursday. The visit comes a day before a closely watched meeting between the US and Russian presidents in Alaska, and a day after an online meeting of European prime ministers with former President Trump. On Wednesday, European partners, including EU representatives, reiterated their pledges to stand with Ukraine and ensure the country is not sidelined in bilateral talks where neither the EU nor Ukraine will be present.
Both the UK and the EU have consistently defended and supported Ukraine—politically, financially, and militarily—since the conflict began in February 2022. With pressure mounting to bring Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the table to accelerate a ceasefire and eventually reach a peace deal, European leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and President Zelenskyy. Ukraine was a key topic at Thursday’s mid-day briefing at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.
There must be robust and credible security guarantees… The president [Ursula von der Leyen] has often mentioned the ‘steel porcupine’ strategy to make Ukraine completely indigestible. – Arianna Podestà, EC deputy spokesperson
Steel porcupine
EU spokespersons faced repeated questions about the upcoming US-Russia talks, including what kind of security guarantees the US could provide to Ukraine. Arianna Podestà, while noting this was not a question for the EU to answer, stressed the bloc’s position:
“Europe’s stance is extremely clear: there must be robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. If I may refer to the words of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, she has often mentioned the ‘steel porcupine’ strategy to make Ukraine completely indigestible to any external aggressor. We need to see the outcomes of this meeting and cannot speculate further.”
She also answered a question on how soon and in what manner Ukrainian and EU representatives would learn more:
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“Our understanding is that President Trump will debrief President Zelenskyy and European leaders following his bilateral meeting. We do not have a specific timeframe to share; it depends on the length and timing of the meeting.”
The summit will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a US military installation just north of Anchorage, Alaska, at 11:30 am local time—9:30 pm in Paris and Brussels, and 8:30 pm in London. Mr Trump has downplayed the bilateral summit as an opening meeting but said he would know within two minutes whether his counterpart desired peace. He also warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Mr Putin did not agree to end the conflict.
Hot drinks in London
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting in London with the prime minister was described as warm and clearly supportive a day before the critical meeting in Alaska. The Associated Press (AP) wrote that the two men met for an hour, with Mr Starmer later walking Mr Zelenskyy “back to his waiting car” where the leaders shared an embrace. Photos revealed the two had hot drinks on an outside terrace while discussing key issues facing Ukraine and the path forward, not least with security backing from the Coalition of the Willing as well as the US. On social media later, President Zelenskyy went into greater detail:
“We also discussed in considerable detail the security guarantees that can make peace truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killings and engage in genuine, substantive diplomacy. It is important that, within the framework of the coalition of the willing, we should all be able to achieve effective formats for security cooperation.”
Steady as she goes
Many European leaders had expressed worries ahead of the US-Russia summit after an early comment by Mr Trump that some territory would likely be swapped, something he later said he was not going to get involved in on Friday. Now the minutes are counting down, and there is little doubt the upcoming meeting is one of the most anticipated in recent history. On Thursday, EU spokespersons repeated what they have often said before but which seems to matter now more than ever: no one wants peace more than Ukraine and the EU. But for it to be worth anything at all, it will have to be just and serious, beginning first with an official ceasefire.
