Volodymyr Zelenskyy Donald Trump London Europe Emmanuel Macron Ukraine Mark Rutte Mike Waltz Viktor Orban Robert Fico Lisa Murkowski United States government Keir Starmer Andrzej Duda Hakan Fidan United Kingdom government Joe Biden Mike Johnson Sergey Lavrov Frank-Walter Steinmeier Vladimir Putin United States Russia-Ukraine war Politics Ukraine government King Charles III War and unrest Russia Ukraine war JD Vance Lindsey Graham Antonio Costa Friedrich Merz Maria Zakharova
# The Latest: Most European leaders back Zelenskyy as he joins crisis talks in London

By The Associated Press  
March 1st, 2025 12:23 PM

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the American people and leadership and voiced hope for "strong relations," a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with U.S. President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.

Zelenskyy on Saturday arrived in London ahead of a summit on Sunday organized by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with other European leaders.

The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.

The meltdown that unfolded Friday in the final minutes of the highly anticipated meeting at the White House between Trump and Zelenskyy seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russia's three-year onslaught.

Here's the latest:

## NATO chief says he told Zelenskyy to restore relationship with Trump

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to "find a way to restore his relationship with the American president" after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday.

Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that "he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine." He was referring to the first Trump administration's decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion.

Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy "unfortunate," Rutte said he "knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace" with Russia.

Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees.

## Alaska Sen. Murkowski says Oval Office scene was 'regrettable'

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she is "sick to her stomach" that the Trump administration "appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin."

Murkowski, a longtime senator from Alaska with an independent steak, has been one of the few Republicans in Congress willing to publicly break with Trump. Her statement Saturday was a lonely voice of support among Republicans in Washington.

Even Republicans sympathetic to Ukraine, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have been critical of Zelenskyy following Friday's contentious White House meeting.

"This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine," Murkowski wrote on X. "It ends with a tense, regrettable conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine."

## Macron has phone calls with Trump and Zelenskyy

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with President Donald Trump and his Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy after their stunning spat in the Oval Office on live television, the French presidency said.

Macron had calls with Trump and Zelenskyy ahead of Sunday's summit in London to discuss Ukraine. He also spoke with British Prime minister Keir Starmer, EU Council president Antonio Costa and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, the Elysee Palace said.

The phone calls were also aimed at preparing a summit of EU leaders next week in Brussels that will also focus on the future of Ukraine.

## 'We stand with you,' Starmer tells Zelenskyy

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him he had the nation's unwavering support a day after the blowout at the White House with President Donald Trump.

The Ukraine leader arrived in London to shouts of support from people who had gathered outside Starmer's official residence where he was hugged by the British prime minister. "And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom," Starmer told him. "We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take."

Zelenskyy, who thanked Starmer and the people of the U.K. for their support and friendship, will meet with King Charles III on Sunday before attending the summit with European leaders.

## Orban calls on EU to launch peace talks with Russia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the European Union should follow "the example of the United States" and start "direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine."

Orban, considered the Kremlin's closest partner among EU leaders, said in a letter to the president of the European Council that "this approach is not reconcilable" with the draft conclusions for an upcoming summit of EU leaders next week in Brussels. The draft conclusions state that there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine, and that a ceasefire can only take place as part of a comprehensive peace agreement.

The letter from Orban was leaked Saturday and its authenticity was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person with knowledge of the document. The person requested to remain anonymous because the letter was not public.

## Czech prime minister says Europe is being tested

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says "Europe faces a historic test" and has to be able to take care of itself. "Nobody else will do it."

Fila said Saturday that Europe has to increase its military support for Ukraine and European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach "at least" 3% of GDP.

"If we don't increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we won't end up well," he said.

## Slovak prime minister blasts Zelenskyy

Slovak populist Prime Minister Robert Fico repeated his country won't provide Ukraine any military or financial support that would help it fight Russia.

Fico also demanded that an emergency EU summit in Brussels on Thursday agree to a call for an immediate ceasefire, "which is something that President Zelenskyy and a majority of EU member states refuse to do."

Fico said his country also wants the summit to specifically request Ukraine to reopen the transit of Russian gas to Europe.

He warned that if the summit doesn't respect the Slovak requests, "the European Council might not be able to agree on its position regarding Ukraine on Thursday."

## Trump's national security adviser says Zelenskyy wasn't 'ambushed'

President Donald Trump's national security adviser says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "has not gotten the memo that this is a new sheriff in town."

Mike Waltz said Saturday on Fox News that the Ukrainian leader heard from former President Joe Biden, "as long as it takes, as much as it takes, blank check."

Waltz spoke a day after a White House blowout between Trump and Zelenskyy derailed plans to sign an economic agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine.

He rejected suggestions among some Trump critics that the president and Vice President JD Vance "ambushed" Zelenskyy.

"That is absolutely and categorically false," Waltz said.

## Russian forces capture 2 more villages in Ukraine

Russian forces have captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday, as they continue a monthslong grinding offensive in what was once the country's industrial heartland. If confirmed, the capture of Burlatske and Skudne would mark a further push northwest by Russia in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine did not immediately comment.

An open-source Ukrainian map widely used by the military and analysts showed the pace of Russian advances appeared to be slowing for a third consecutive month. The team behind the map, Deepstate, attributed this slowdown to heavy casualties. But Russian troops continued to inch forward, in what appears to be a long-term bid by the Kremlin to wear down Ukraine's defenses.

## Polish president calls on Zelenskyy to negotiate

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has called on Zelenskyy to return to the negotiating table in order to ensure the security of his country, arguing that only the United States is able to stop Russian aggression.

Duda is a strong supporter of Ukraine and has friendly ties with Trump.

"Volodymyr Zelenskyy should return to this table, sit calmly at this table, remain calm, negotiate a solution that will make Ukraine safe," Duda told reporters in Poland.

He said that he sees no other force than the United States that could stop Russian aggression.

## Russia claims Ukraine drone attack targets gas pipeline

Russia said on Saturday that it shot down three Ukrainian drones that targeted part of the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which transports Russian gas across the Black Sea to Turkey and Europe.

The Russian defense ministry said the drones aimed to strike a compressor station in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, in the latest of a series of similar attacks this year. Its claims could not be independently confirmed, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Before its troops moved into Ukraine, Russia supplied nearly 40% of the European Union's pipeline natural gas. Most of these flows have since halted, with exports from Norway and the U.S. filling the gap.

The TurkStream pipeline continues to send gas to EU member Hungary, as well as Turkey and Serbia.

## French minister says only president can decide on nuclear deterrent

The French minister of the armed forces says France's nuclear deterrent will remain the prerogative of the country's president as European leaders mull ways to bolster their security amid uncertainty over U.S. support.

Sebastien Lecornu posted a clarification on the social network X on Saturday after French president Emmanuel Macron said he was ready to open discussions on a possible European nuclear deterrent.

"Our nuclear deterrent is French, and it will remain so: from the design and production of our weapons, to their deployment on the decision of the President of the Republic," Lecornu said. "It protects France's vital interests, which the head of state alone is responsible for defining."

Future German leader Friedrich Merz has suggested that Britain and France could "share" their nuclear weapons in the future.

## 'Our horror is greater today than before,' says German foreign minister

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said "a new era of ruthlessness" had begun in the wake of Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy at the White House, but vowed that it would only increase her country's commitment to Ukraine.

"Many of you will have slept fitfully tonight in the face of the unspeakable videos from the White House. Frankly, so did I. Unfortunately, this was not a bad dream, but a violent reality," she told reporters on Saturday. "Our horror is greater today than before, but so is our commitment to the people of Ukraine, to our own security and to peace in Europe."

She described Ukraine as "part of free and democratic Europe" and said there is no question as to who is the aggressor and who is "the brave defender" in the war.

## Russia launches 154 drones at Ukrainian territory, wounds 12 in Kharkiv

A nighttime Russian drone strike on Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv wounded 12 civilians, including two children, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported on Saturday.

According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, some of the drones hit a medical facility where inpatients were staying overnight, while others damaged residential buildings.

Ukraine's air force said Russia overnight launched a total of 154 attack drones at Ukrainian territory, 103 of which were shot down.

## Russia says the White House blowout is Kyiv's failure

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson described Friday's Oval Office blowout between Trump and Zelenskyy as a "complete political and diplomatic failure" for Kyiv.

In a statement Saturday, Maria Zakharova also slammed the "political weakness and extreme moral degradation" of European leaders who continue to support Ukraine and its president.

Zakharova said Russia's war aims remain unchanged, implying Moscow will insist on a demilitarized Ukraine barred from NATO, and on annexing Ukrainian territories it controls.

## German president criticizes Trump

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized Trump in unusually sharp terms for his behavior during the meeting with Zelenskyy at the Oval Office.

"Diplomacy fails when negotiating partners are humiliated in front of the whole world," Steinmeier told dpa, the German news agency, during a flight to Uruguay. "The scene in the White House yesterday took my breath away. I would never have believed that we would one day have to protect Ukraine from the USA."

## Macron suggests that Putin, not Zelenskyy, is gambling with World War III

French President Emmanuel Macron said if someone is gambling with World War III, it is not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but more likely his Russian counterpart.

Macron reacted to Friday's heated exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, during which Trump accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War III."

"If anyone is gambling with World War III, his name is Vladimir Putin," Macron told Portugal's RTP news channel during a visit to Lisbon ahead of Sunday's Ukraine summit of European leaders in London.

Macron said he still hopes that the United States will remain committed to the defense of democracy.

"My hope is that the United States of America will continue to stand by its history and its principles," he said. "Whenever we have had major conflicts, the United States of America has been on the right side of history and freedom."

## Turkish foreign minister discusses Ukraine with Lavrov

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the war in Ukraine, officials said.

The phone call came a day before Fidan is due to attend a London summit of European leaders to discuss bringing the three-year conflict to an end.

Turkey, which has close ties to both Ukraine and Russia, has previously offered to mediate talks. It hosted unsuccessful peace talks in 2022.

## Zelenskyy expresses his thanks to the US people

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced thanks to the "American people" and leadership, and hope for "strong relations," less than a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.

Ukraine had walked into the meeting prepared to sign a mineral deal with the U.S., hoping it would be a step toward a just ceasefire, but left empty handed.

In a series of posts on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians are "very grateful to the United States for all the support," and specifically thanked Trump and Congress alongside the "American people."

"Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders: It's a historic and solid bond between our peoples. … American people helped save our people," he said. "We want only strong relations with America and I really hope we will have them," he added.

## Zelenskyy arrives in the UK ahead of schedule to meet with Starmer

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to meet Saturday afternoon with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the dramatic blowout with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Zelenskyy's plane with the Ukrainian flag on its tail landed at London Stansted Airport the morning after the diplomatic spat on live TV.

Zelenskyy had been due to meet with Starmer on Sunday, hours before taking part in a London summit of European leaders to discuss how to ensure a peaceful end to the war and provide security across the continent.

But the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit.