Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit in London, UK, March 2, 2025 (Javad Parsa/NTB/Reuters)

EA on International Outlets: Can Europe Protect Ukraine from Russia?

Tuesday’s Coverage: Trashing Zelensky and Europe, Trump Suspends Aid

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2132 GMT:

One civilian has been killed and three injured by a Russian missile strike on a building in Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine.

UPDATE 2125 GMT:

As President Emmanuel Macron addresses the French nation, France and the UK are reportedly seeking to complete with Ukraine a plan to present to the Trump Administration.

Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have separately held several calls with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.

“We’re looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks,” said “one senior European diplomat”.

Macron has proposed a one-month ceasefire on attacks by air and sea and on those targeting energy infrastructure.

UPDATE 2117 GMT:

Noting that the Trump Administration has “changed its position” on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while trying to impose trade tariffs on European goods, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the nation, “We are entering a new era.”

Macron said history has shown that the Russian threat “is real” and affects European countries, and now “Ukraine has become a global conflict”:

It’s not just the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom. It’s also our security which is under threat. If a country can invade its neighbor in Europe and go unpunished…peace can no longer be guaranteed on our own continent.

Russia has become and will remain a threat to France and Europe.

“The path to peace cannot be achieved by abandoning Ukraine,” he summarized.

Macron noted that working with European partners and Ukraine on a plan to end the Russian invasion, he went to Washington last week to “advocate” for the plan wit Donald Trump.

“I want to believe that the US will stand by our side, but we have to be ready for that not to be the case,” he concluded.

UPDATE 2105 GMT:

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak says he and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz have “discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace” during a call on Wednesday.

In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelensky said:

We are preparing for the EU summit, which will take place tomorrow in Brussels. Everyone can see how quickly diplomatic events are unfolding.

Today, the Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz have spoken, and there’s positive movement. We hope to see some results next week.

UPDATE 1657 GMT:

UK national James Scott Rhys Anderson, fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk region in western Russia, has been sentenced by a Russian court to 19 years in prison.

Footage of Anderson, 22, in Russian captivity circulated last November. Russian authorities later confirmed that he had been imprisoned.

He was sentenced in a closed session on charges of “terrorism” and “mercenarism”.

UPDATE 1543 GMT:

After a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Hungary’s hard-right government has expressed hope of a reconciliation with the Trump Administration, including the removal of American sanctions.

Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó said after the discussion with Rubion that the sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration were “created clearly with the intention of political revenge, in order to harm Hungary and later harm future Hungary-US relations”.

There are measures involving sanctions that affect Hungary’s energy security in the areas of natural gas acquisition and also nuclear energy, but there is also the sanction against Minister Rogán [in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s office].

We have launched the necessary legal procedures concerning all three issues and the secretary of state assured us of absolute openness regarding leaving behind us these revenge measures as soon as possible.

The Foreign Minister claimed about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, without evidence, “In Europe, especially in its western part, there was some scheming under way against Donald Trump and his peace plan.”

UPDATE 1519 GMT:

The Financial Times reports that the Trump Administration has cut off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

However, Bloomberg and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne, citing a Ukrainian official, said the flow of intelligence information continues.

“Four officials familiar with the decision” confirmed the halt to the Financial Times. CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox Business: “Trump had a real question about whether President Zelensky was committed to the peace process, and he said let’s pause.”

Radcliffe said the sharing might be restore after “the response that President Zelensky put out” on social media ion Tuesday: “So I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away.”

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters that the Administration “had taken a step back” and was “reviewing all aspects” of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.

The Administration also formally blocked allies from sharing US intelligence with Ukraine, but two officials said recipients with assets inside the country are likely to continue passing on relevant intelligence to Kyiv. That does apply to time-sensitive and high-value intelligence, such as that needed for Ukraine to conduct precision strikes on moveable Russian targets.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence refused to comment on a possible cutoff beyond saying, “We have a Plan B.”

Analysts say US support gives Kyiv live intelligence on Russian movements on the ground and in the air, playing a role in the early warning system against Moscow’s missile and drone attacks.

The American intelligence has also enabled Ukraine’s precision strikes on Russian-held territory.

The UK Government declined comment on the reports, including about a block by the US on sharing British intelligence with Kyiv. A spokesperson said: “We would do everything to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, particularly around defense and security.”

UPDATE 1514 GMT:

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz says Donald Trump will consider restoring aid to Ukraine if talks to end the Russian invasion are arranged.

“I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause,” Waltz told Fox TV.

Citing “positive steps forward”, he said Washington and Kyiv are discussing the date, location, and participants in negotiations to end the Russian invasion.

Ukraine Presidential Advisor Dmitry Litvin confirmed that Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak had a telephone conversation with Waltz.

UPDATE 1501 GMT:

French President Emmanuel Macron is considering a visit to the US with Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to meet Donald Trump.

Macron’s office said no plans have been set.

Starmer said in Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons:

The whole point of ensuring that there’s a lasting peace – and that any deal, if there’s a deal, is defended – is to avoid conflict, to ensure that we do have peace.

The way to ensure we have peace is to ensure there are guarantees for any deal that is in place, because the surest risk that there will be conflict is if Putin thinks that he can breach any deal that may be arrived at.

UPDATE 0956 GMT:

Citing two unnamed sources, CNN says Trump Administration officials held secret talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team to “underscore the importance of stabilizing relations with the White House”.

Among those involved was Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. The Americans urged Kyiv to resume talks on the minerals deal before Trump’s address to the US Congress on Tuesday night.

London’s The Telegraph claims from its sources that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Zelensky in a phone call on Tuesday that “there were certain things that Trump wanted to hear,” including a statement that Zelensky had mishandled the Oval Office meeting.

Zelensky then posted on social media that the White House meeting “did not go as expected”: “It’s a shame it turned out this way. It’s time to fix everything. We would like further cooperation and communication to be constructive.”

UPDATE 0652 GMT:

A 73-year-old man has been killed by a Russian drone attack on the outskirts of Odesa city in southern Ukraine. Another civilian was moderately injured.

The Russian assault late Tuesday cut power, water, and heating cuts in parts of Odesa for the second straight day as critical infrastructure and private houses were damaged.

The attack was the fourth in two weeks on energy infrastructure.

Air defenses downed 115 of 181 drones fired by Russia overnight on 10 regions, and another 55 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Playing to Donald Trump’s ego while implicitly rebuffing the falsehoods of Trump and the Kremlin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured about Russia’s three-year invasion, “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”

In a lengthy statement on social media on Tuesday, Zelensky began, “I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace”, and emphasized that he wanted “to work with the US for a strong final deal”. He expressed gratitude for “how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence”, rewriting history to emphasize “the moment when things changed when President Trump” rather than the US Congress “provided Ukraine with Javelins [anti-tank missiles”.

The President then tried to put behind the attempt of Trump and J.D. Vance to humiliate him in the White House, as well as confirmation on Monday that the Trump Administration is blocking any military aid to Ukraine.

Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.

He said Kyiv is “ready to sign” the minerals deal with the US, held up last Friday by the Trump-Vance verbal assault, “as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees”.

The gambit immediately paid off when Trump read out Zelensky’s statement in a 90-minute speech to the US Congress on Tuesday night.

However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent knocked back media reports that the Administration would immediately sign the deal. The arrangement, successfully modified by Kyiv to blunt the initial Trump ultimatum, establishes a fund in which each side has 50% interest. The money from the minerals, including rare earth stocks, is to be used for Ukraine’s reconstruction and economic development.

Europe’s Commitment to Ukraine’s Defense

Zelensky used his nightly address to the nation to thank a series of leaders with whom he spoke after the Trump Administration announced its cutoff of military aid. He highlighted “very important updates from the European Commission regarding substantial funding for Europe’s defense”.

On Tuesday morning, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a 5-point plan, requiring €800 billion in investment, to strengthen defense capabilities.

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.

Germany’s incoming Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced that the prospective governing coalition will pursue billions of euros in extra spending on defense and infrastructure. It will also seek immediate approval for a €3 billion aid package for Ukraine that has been held up for weeks.

German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock welcomed von der Leyen’s plan as “an important first step”: “Two things are now essential for peace through strength: additional aid – military and financial – for Ukraine, which is defending our freedom. And a quantum leap to strengthen our EU defense.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Zelensky’s “steadfast” commitment to securing peace in a phone call. He told the President that “it was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible”.

UK Defence Minister John Healey will meet US counterpart Pete Hegseth, in Washington on Thursday.

Foreign Minister David Lammy said he had spoken to counterparts in France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain. “We will step up and we are stepping up – together,” he asserted.