European leaders pledged to support Ukraine
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, declared yesterday that “we are at a crossroads in history,” and announced that European countries would assemble a “coalition of the willing” to defend Ukraine against Russia. Read more here.
The announcement followed a meeting in London of 18 European leaders that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, attended. Starmer said that “a number” of other nations had indicated that they could join with Britain and France and deploy troops to Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire between Kyiv and Moscow. He also announced plans to allow Ukraine to use 1.6 billion pounds in British export financing to buy more than 5,000 air defense missiles.
Context: The gathering took on greater urgency after Zelensky’s heated meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, which raised fears that the U.S. would try to force Ukraine into making a peace deal.
Ukraine: Most people in the country this weekend appeared to be watching and waiting after the meeting between Trump and Zelensky. They wondered: Would the U.S. abandon them?
Related: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia, officials said.
