The News
Kyiv’s European allies gathered in London Sunday for talks aimed at crafting a peace plan for Ukraine after a disastrous meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the future of the continent in the face of Russian aggression uncertain.
The London gathering followed a week of diplomacy by European leaders that ended in dramatic fashion on Friday, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly admonished Zelenskyy and ejected him from the White House.
France and the UK have stepped into the breach: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said they would present a peace plan to Washington, but stressed that a resolution to the conflict will require a US “backstop” to deter Russia from violating the terms of a deal.
SIGNALS
US-Ukraine mineral deal stalled — for now
After weeks of momentum, Washington views talks with Ukraine as on hold after Friday’s meltdown. The ball is in Zelenskyy’s court, a Trump administration official told NBC: Zelenskyy “has to come back to the table and he has to be the one to come and make it right.” What that means is unclear: Zelenskyy had come to Washington to sign a minerals deal that Kyiv hoped would give the US enough of a stake in the conflict that it would help Ukraine negotiate a peace deal on its terms, rather than Moscow’s, Russian economic outlet The Bell wrote. But with the minerals deal abandoned, Trump could pursue talks with Russia “without Ukraine at the table; or he washes his hands of the entire conflict.”
Europe has an opportunity to finally step up
For Europe, the geopolitical fallout presents a meaningful — but fraught — opening to finally take a leading role in its own future. European officials have talked about seizing frozen Russian assets and hiking defense spending, but action is lacking: “The gulf between words and actions telegraphs weakness to the Kremlin,” The Economist argued, stressing that Europe must meet the moment, or else. For the continent, “nothing less than the future of its security order is at stake,” Die Welt wrote, noting that the UK is setting the tone for what could become a cohesive European security policy. But whether it’s enough to convince the US to keep providing some security guarantee, however, remains to be seen.
Russia is gleeful, while Ukraine is exhausted
The blowup between the US and Ukraine could give Russian leader Vladimir Putin “the kind of ammunition he needs to prolong the fight,” The New York Times wrote: Putin could expand Russia’s military push on the frontlines as Moscow holds out for a deal on its terms — especially if the US ends or downgrades its support to Kyiv, analysts warned. Kremlin officials were apparently gleeful after Friday’s disastrous meeting and the subsequent Republican calls for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resign, a longtime goal of Moscow’s. Ukrainians, meanwhile, are confronted with no good options, the Financial Times wrote: Many “would probably welcome peace even though they assume that no settlement can resolve the Russian threat for good. For now they are just waiting to see which way the great powers move.”