Western allies rally around Zelensky after Trump spat deepens rift with Europe

(CNN) — Western leaders scrambled to back Ukraine after Friday’s acrimonious meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky deepened the already yawning fault lines between Washington and many of its key allies.

The remarkable Oval Office exchange highlights a tricky balancing act facing Western capitals since Trump’s return to office in January: maintaining steadfast support for Zelensky and Kyiv against Russian aggression, while not alienating a famously transactional president who appears increasingly sympathetic to President Valdimir Putin, tolerates little criticism and is upturning decades of transatlantic security alliances.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met Trump in the White House on Thursday in one of the trickiest visits by a British leader to Washington in decades, spoke with both the US president and Zelensky following their shouting match, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

Starmer “retains his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,” the spokeswoman said.

The UK is set to host a summit of European leaders on Sunday to discuss support for Kyiv. Zelensky is expected to attend what’s likely to be a much more welcoming setting for the Ukrainian leader, with Starmer having urged Trump against accepting any peace deal in Ukraine that would “reward” Russia or its allies.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key Trump ally in Europe, also called for a summit with the US and European nations to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying that division makes the West weaker.

Europe’s leaders and officials have been blindsided by a staggering collapse in American support for Ukraine in the past weeks, after almost three years of ironclad backing by the previous administration of Joe Biden. Many still cannot understand why US President Donald Trump has turned so furiously on Zelensky and conceded key concessions to Putin before even starting talks.

Zelensky has spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron and to European Council President António Costa following his scathing exchange with Trump at the White House, according to a Ukrainian source with knowledge of the situation.

“There is an aggressor, which is Russia, and an attacked people, which is Ukraine,” Macron later said in a statement.

“Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians do,” wrote German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X. “Therefore we are working on a common path to a lasting and just peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany – and on Europe.”

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that it’s “clear that the free world needs a new leader.” European Union leaders also issued a joint statement urging Zelensky to “be strong.”

Zelensky has also spoken to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a source said.

“Ukraine, you’ll never walk alone,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said, while Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna cautioned that if “Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no Ukraine.”

There was swift vocal support too from key US allies outside Europe, including from all other members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that are among Washington’s most trusted partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would “continue to stand with Ukraine.”

“Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom, and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all,” Trudeau wrote on X.

Australia’s prime minister reiterated his country’s support for Kyiv, saying it will “continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

“We stand unequivocally with Ukraine in their struggle, because we regard that as a struggle for the upholding of international law,” Anthony Albanese said.

Meanwhile New Zealand’s leader Christopher Luxon said his nation remained “steadfast in its support for Ukraine as it defends itself in a war that Russia started.”

‘Ukraine, you’ll never walk alone’

A notable exception to the wave of European solidarity was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a far-right populist and Trump ally, who took to X to stand with the US president.

“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orban wrote. “Today President (Trump) stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!”

The tense exchange with Trump boosted Zelensky’s backing among many at home, with Ukraine’s lawmakers rallying behind Kyiv’s leader.

“We are proud of our president. We are proud that he has guts to stand up for Ukraine,” Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Friday.

Merezhko said there’s “absolutely no doubt” that the Ukrainian parliament will back Zelensky.

“We are united behind our president but at the same time, we hope that wisdom and common sense will prevail.”

Ukraine’s military, who have spent more than three years holding back a far larger Russian force with the help of US and European aid, also maintained a message of defiance, at least on public channels.

“Trump understands the aggressive manner of negotiations and is trying to crush Zelensky,” said Stanislav Buniatov, another Ukrainian military officer, in a Telegram post. “There would have been no heated talks if Trump had offered at least a ceasefire on the contact line with minimal amendments.”

One military officer, who goes by the callsign Aleks, said on Telegram he doesn’t “give a damn” about the kind of peace Trump offers.

“It’s better to fight to death than to freeze the war and then be drained again in three years,” he said.

The-CNN-Wire
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