EU leaders yesterday appealed to US President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday over the war in Ukraine.
The European leaders are desperate to exert some influence over the meeting that they have been sidelined from. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine would take part. Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year.
However, Trump has disappointed US allies in Europe by saying that Ukraine would have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said that Russia must accept land swaps, although it remains unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.
Photo: Reuters
The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia’s energy might to try to cow the EU, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them.
The overarching fear for European countries is that Putin would set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine.
The leaders in a statement said that they “welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” but, they underlined that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.”
“A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force,” they said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected the idea that Ukraine must commit to give up land to secure a ceasefire. Russia holds shaky control over four of the country’s regions, two in the country’s east and two in the south.
In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military training facility left one soldier dead and 11 others wounded, the Ukrainian Ground Forces posted on Telegram, adding that soldiers rushing to shelters were hit with cluster munitions.
Meanwhile, Russia appeared to be on the verge of taking an important city in the Donetsk region, as its forces were reported to be rapidly infiltrating positions north of Pokrovsk.
Military analysts using open source information to monitor the battles said that the next 24 to 48 hours could be critical.
Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important battlefield victory ahead of the summit. It would also complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of its military efforts.
“A lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,” Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, wrote on social media.
Trump on Monday repeated that “there’ll be some land swapping going on.”
He said that this would involve “some bad stuff for both” Ukraine and Russia.
Trump was also critical of Zelenskiy, saying that Ukraine’s leader had been in power for the duration of the war and “nothing happened” during that time.
He contrasted that with Putin, who has wielded power unchallenged in Russia for decades.
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