L to R: European Council President António Costa, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brussels, Belgium, March 6, 2025 (New York Post)

Thursday’s Coverage: European Leaders and Zelensky Gather in Brussels

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1830 GMT:

Donald Trump has further signalled his support of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, saying he views it as an “easier” negotiating partner than Ukraine.

I find that in terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia, which is surprising, because they have all the cards, and they’re bombing the hell out of them right now.

Asked if he believes Putin wants peace, Trump replied:

I believe him. I think we’re doing very well with Russia, and right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine. I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. They don’t have the cards.

When a reporter questioned if Putin is taking advantage of the cutoff of US intelligence-sharing and military aid to Ukraine, Trump again supported the Russian leader, “I actually think he is doing what anybody else would do.”

He continued, “Despite the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax [the Trump campaign’s co-operation with Moscow in 2016], I’ve always had a good relationship with Putin. He wants to end the war. And I think he’s going to be more generous than he has to be.”

The ramble to reporters contradicted a social media post by Trump earlier in the day:

Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late.

UPDATE 1526 GMT:

Ukraine is asking Italy for more information about a proposal by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to extend NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee to Ukraine without offering membership in the 32-nation bloc (see 0927 GMT).

“We welcome this statement as part of the discussion on providing Ukraine with long-term security guarantees and ensuring security and peace in general,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said. “As for this proposal specifically, we are in contact with our Italian colleagues to clarify the specifics of this proposal.”

UPDATE 1520 GMT:

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Warsaw must respond to the Trump Administration’s “deep correction” in its defense priorities.

It is not my role to review certain negotiating tactics or approach to politics [of the US], but there is no doubt about it that this unpredictability…from our most important ally does not make our task any easier.

UPDATE 1300 GMT:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported the call of French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for an aerial and sea ceasefire in Russia’s invasion.

“We support the idea of establishing a ceasefire as soon as possible and stopping attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,” Erdoğan said at a European Union online meeting.

UPDATE 1053 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on the latest Russian aerial assault:

The first steps toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life. And this is something that can be effectively monitored. Silence in the skies – banning the use of missiles, long-range drones, and aerial bombs. And silence at sea – a real guarantee of normal navigation. Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war.

UPDATE 0927 GMT:

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suggested that NATO could extend Article 5 protections to Ukraine without granting membership to Kyiv in the alliance.

Article 5 commits member nations to come to the defense of any other member state who is attacked.

“We need to think about more durable solutions” than just sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine, Meloni said in Brussels on Thursday. “It’s a different thing than entering NATO, but it implies extending the coverage that NATO countries have also to Ukraine.”

UPDATE 0915 GMT:

At least two civilians have been killed and 24 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 100 of 194 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 86 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Of 67 missiles fired by the Russians, 34 were intercepted.

The attacks follow confirmation that the Trump Administration has stopped intelligence-sharing with Ukraine about the incoming Russian drones and missiles.

Infrastructure facilities in the Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in western Ukraine were targeted.

The fatalities were in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

Casualties were reported in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, in the Donetsk region in the east, the Poltava region in the center, and the Zaporizhzhia in the south.

UPDATE 0751 GMT:

The Kremlin has shown its agitation over French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to extend France’s nuclear umbrella to other European countries.

Macron said at Thursday’s European Council meeting that he had been approached by other leaders all day in Brussels about the offer of joint deterrence. He hoped for cooperation by the end of June.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov snapped that Macron is “preparing to use nuclear weapons against Russia”, providing no evidence.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov complained, “France is already ready to use its nuclear weapons for security and the like. It’s already such a nuclear rhetoric; it’s a claim to nuclear leadership in Europe.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Europe’s leaders have agreed on a €800 billion ($866 billion), 5-point plan to increase defense spending in “a watershed moment” for the continent, including Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that if Donald Trump wants “peace through strength”, this will only be possible with the European Union and its 27 member states. She cited “many examples that show how important the support of Europe is to come to a positive end”.

The plan includes the use of public funding for defense at the national level; €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans to member states for defense investments; incentives to use cohesion policy programs for investment in the defense sector; and mobilizing private capital through the Savings and Investment Union and the European Investment Bank.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “Spend, spend, spend on defense and deterrence. That is the most important message, and at the same time, of course, continue to support Ukraine, because we want peace in Europe.”

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola emphasized that it was “about damn time” for Europe to “say that we are ready to put finally our money where our mouth is on Ukraine”.

This is something that we have been asking for a long time: that the European Union, that Europe is capable of standing up on its own two feet.

That’s why we’ve been saying we need to scale up. We need to be prepared. We need to produce and we need to protect.

That is essentially what our citizens are asking from us.

In their final statement, the European leaders responded to Donald Trump’s tilt towards Russia and abdication of European and Ukrainian security.

Europe must become more sovereign, more responsible for its own defence and better equipped to act and deal autonomously with immediate and future challenges and threats.

The European Union “will accelerate the mobilisation of the necessary instruments and financing” to boost security and “reinforce its overall defense readiness [and] reduce its strategic dependencies”. Challenging direct US-Russia talks, the leaders made clear, “There can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine.”

Only Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor OrbánTooltip Text is an ally of Vladimir Putin, refused to join the statement.

European Council president António Costa assured, “Hungary has a different strategic approach on Ukraine, but that means Hungary is isolated among the 27.”

Zelensky: “We Are Not Alone”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky responded, “We are very thankful that we are not alone.”

Ukrainians truly want peace, but not at the cost of giving up Ukraine. The real question for any negotiations is whether Russia is capable of giving up the war. Be sure that Ukraine will share all the details of peace plans and the talks process with all of Europe. Every European nation that helps must be on board on the path to peace.

Kyiv confirmed that it had succeeded in getting direct talks with Trump Administration representatives in Saudi Arabia next Tuesday. The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov may also participate.

Zelensky said he plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.

Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said, “The idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”

Trump Administration on Ukraine: “Hitting a Mule with a Two by Four Across the Nose”

But the Administration continued to threaten Ukraine. Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the cutoff of intelligence to Kyiv — including a halt to warnings of incoming Russian drones and missiles, and of targeting of Russian positions for Ukrainian strikes — will be maintained for now.

I believe the push is to get them to engage in diplomatic activities…to get this to the table and say, this is an approach to going forward….

It’s a forcing function to get to the realization that we wanted to go to a peace discussion, a peace deal….

The best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two by four across the nose. You get their attention.

Assessing that Trump acts like a businessman rather than a conventional President, Kellogg said Ukraine will not get any US assistance until it confirms a deal to provide the Administration with minerals.

My personal belief be, you don’t move forward until you get a signed document, period….

There is a difference between offering to do it and doing it.

Sign the document.

Trump later said that the Administration will not support a NATO ally under attack if he believes they are not paying enough for their own defense.

“It’s common sense, right,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them. No, I’m not going to defend them.”

The statement bolstered the view of Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK, former military commander-in-chief Valerii Zalushny:

It’s obvious that the White House has questioned the unity of the whole western world, and now Washington is trying to delegate the security issues to Europe without participation of the US. So we can say that in the near future, NATO…can stop existing.

In the backdrop of the Nato’s inability or unpreparedness to stand up to this axis of evil, the position of Ukraine becomes very important. Ukraine does not have its own nuclear weapons, it pays for its freedom with its blood.