European allies have thrown their weight behind Kyiv, warning that any peace deal between Russia and the United States that excludes Ukraine would be unacceptable. The show of solidarity comes ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, a summit that has sparked deep concerns in European capitals.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, and the European Commission stressed that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” They underlined that international borders must not be changed by force and pledged continued diplomatic, military, and financial support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been vocal in opposing any talks that bypass his government, warning that such deals would amount to “dead decisions.” Reacting to Trump’s suggestion of possible “territory swaps” between Moscow and Kyiv, Zelensky declared, “We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated… Any decisions without Ukraine are also decisions against peace.”
Reports from U.S. media outlets indicate that the White House has floated proposals allowing Russia to retain control of Crimea and the entire Donbas region a position rejected by Ukraine and its European partners. Instead, Kyiv and European powers have presented their own blueprint, stipulating that any territorial concessions must be reciprocal.
French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned against excluding European nations from the process, arguing that their security is directly tied to the outcome. “Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution,” he posted on X.
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, on a diplomatic mission to the UK, met with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and top Zelensky aides to discuss the matter. Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, reiterated that “a reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table.”
The Alaska summit would mark the first meeting between a sitting U.S. and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in 2021, months before Russia’s full-scale invasion. With Moscow still occupying large areas of eastern Ukraine and neither side achieving a decisive military breakthrough, the stakes for these talks and for Ukraine’s place in them could not be higher.
