The leaders of Britain, France and Germany discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump ongoing U.S.-led peace talks for Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Wednesday, welcoming efforts to secure a just and lasting settlement.
"The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing U.S.-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing," a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The leaders agreed this was a critical moment for Ukraine and said intensive work on the peace plan would continue in the coming days.
Ukraine, with the help of European allies, has been pushing back on a U.S.-backed peace plan that was reported on late last month and viewed as Moscow-friendly. Kyiv is seeking strong security guarantees from its allies that would prevent a new Russian invasion.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said earlier Ukrainian officials would hold talks on Wednesday with U.S. counterparts on issues of postwar reconstruction and economic development.
The broader 20-point framework for a peace plan would be delivered to the U.S. in the near future, he said.
Security help needed for an election: ZelenskyyZelenskyy says Ukraine is prepared to hold elections within three months if the U.S. and Kyiv's other allies could ensure the security of the vote.
Wartime elections are forbidden by law but Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from Trump to hold a vote as he pushes Kyiv to secure peace quickly in the nearly four-year-old war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also questioned the legitimacy of Zelenskyy, given the election issue, even as Russian elections that have seen him retain power for more than two decades have not been considered free and fair.
Zelenskyy's remarks followed comments by Trump in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday suggesting Ukraine's government was using the war as an excuse to avoid elections.
Zelenskyy and other officials have routinely dismissed the idea of holding elections with frequent Russian airstrikes across the country, nearly a million troops at the front and millions more Ukrainians displaced.
Also uncertain is the voting status of those Ukrainians living in the one-fifth of the country occupied by Russia, as well as those near the front line.
Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that he was clinging to power as "totally inadequate."
Pushback on U.S. view of EuropeThe Ukrainian leader has ruled out ceding territory to Russia, and he and his European allies are concerned that the U.S.-backed deal bows to many of Moscow's key demands, does not fully address their security concerns and would reward Russia for invading Ukraine.
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said there will be another meeting on Thursday of the leaders of the "coalition of the willing," the group of nations representing Ukraine's allies and jointly led by France and Britain.
Zelenskyy is shown in London on with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron's office said Ukraine's allies will hold a teleconference meeting on Thursday. (Thomas Krych/The Associated Press)The office added Wednesday that this meeting would be held by videoconference.
Statements by U.S. officials have shaken assumptions about Europe's alliance with Washington. A new U.S. National Security Strategy document released last week said Europe must change course or face "erasure," seemingly providing succor for the nationalist parties on the continent who assail the current levels of migration from Africa and Asia.
In the Politico interview, Trump had characterized Europe as a "decaying" group of nations, describing its political leaders as "weak."
"They want to be so politically correct," he said.
Responding to a question in British Parliament on Wednesday, Starmer pushed back against that assessment.
"What I see is a strong Europe, united behind Ukraine and united behind our long-standing values of freedom and democracy, and I will always stand up for those freedoms," Starmer said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday told reporters that while some parts of the U.S. security strategy were "plausible" or "understandable," others were unacceptable, without elaborating.
"I see no need for the Americans to now try to save democracy in Europe. If it needed saving, we would be able to handle that on our own," he added.
Trump has had a contentious relationship with Ukraine's leader, dating back to his first term, when he was impeached by the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives for pressuring Zelenskyy over Ukraine military aid in exchange for political favours. Trump was acquitted in the U.S. Senate.
Trump has been highly critical of the amount of military and humanitarian aid given to Ukraine by the previous Biden administration since Russia invaded in early 2022.
This year, the second Trump administration has cut off supplies to Kyiv unless they were paid for by other NATO countries.
Some Ukrainian troops pull back outside PokrovskThe flurry of talks is occurring at a critical time in the war, as winter begins.
Pokrovsk has been the focus of a long, slow drive by Russian forces through Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow announcing the capture of new villages several times a week.
Ukrainian servicemen fire a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) toward Russian troops in an unidentified location near the front-line town of Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Reuters)Russia's military last week said its forces had captured Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
Ukrainian troops have been holding parts of the beleaguered city since mid-November, but some units were ordered to withdraw from impractical positions outside the city in the past week, Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, confirmed to reporters on Tuesday.
Syrskyi said that Russian troops were staging a buildup in the area under cover of rain and fog.