European leaders have been shaken by Trump’s overtures to Russia to end the three-year-old invasion and improve relations between the two powers. Many fear a deal to end the war could be made without European or Ukrainian involvement.
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European Union leaders will hold a special summit on the Ukraine war on March 6 to discuss Ukraine and European defence, the chairman of EU summits Antonio Costa said on Sunday.
”I have decided to convene a special European Council on 6 March,” Costa said on X.
”We are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security. In my consultations with European leaders, I’ve heard a shared commitment to meet those challenges at EU level: strengthening European Defence and contributing decisively to peace on our continent and long-term security of Ukraine,” he said.
Costa said his talks with European leaders had highlighted “a shared commitment to meet those challenges at EU level: strengthening European defence and contributing decisively to peace on our continent and long-term security of Ukraine.”
French President Emmanuel Macron called two meetings on Ukraine in Paris last week and will go to Washington on Monday for talks with Trump. Keir Starmer, prime minister of non-EU member Britain, will be at the White House later this week.
Zelenskyy offers resignation for Ukraine’s peace, NATO membership
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, quipping that he could exchange his departure for Ukraine’s entry into NATO.
Zelenskyy also said he wanted to see US President Donald Trump as a partner to Ukraine and more than a simply a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.
“If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready. … I can exchange it for NATO,” Zelensky told a Kyiv press conference, adding he would depart “immediately” if necessary.
‘Unity’ between allies
Ukraine’s president on Sunday called for “unity” between the United States and Europe to achieve “lasting peace”, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion and in the wake of Donald Trump’s pro-Moscow turn.
“We must do our best to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. This is possible with the unity of all partners: we need the strength of the whole of Europe, the strength of America, the strength of all those who want lasting peace,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram, also noting that overnight the country had suffered the biggest Russian drone attack since the invasion began.
With inputs from agencies