PARIS — Leaders from across Europe came quickly to the defense of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after his televised clash with President Trump and Vice President Vance.
Many of them publicly pushed back against the Trump administration's perceived alignment with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin and the apparent browbeating of Zelenskyy while he was inside the Oval Office on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the most pointed in his public statements, distinguishing between what he called the "aggressor" — Russia — and the "victim" — Ukraine — and saying that countries including France who had helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago, after the initial invasion in February 2022, were "right" to continue to do so.
France's prime minister, François Bayrou, praised Zelenskyy as the honor of Europe for "refusing to bend," despite the televised criticism he faced from both Vance and Trump. "It remains for us to decide what we Europeans want to be," Bayrou wrote, in light of the new Trump administration's impact on Europe's defense. "And if we want to be at all."
Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower was lit up Friday night in the Ukrainian flag colors of blue and yellow.
Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Trump this week to try to hammer home the need for continued military aid to Ukraine, and to keep the U.S. aligned with Europe in any peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
From European leaders, "unwavering support" for Ukraine
According to Starmer, he spoke to both Trump and Zelenskyy after the uncomfortable Oval Office meeting. His office at 10 Downing Street issued a statement that said Starmer "retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine."
But one of his ministers, Douglas Alexander, called the fracas in the White House "deeply troubling and sobering," and Starmer's chief political opponent, Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, posted on social media "respectable diplomacy" was essential for peace, and that a "divided West only benefits Russia."
Europe's leaders will meet in London on Sunday, at Starmer's invitation, to discuss their next steps after the Oval Office episode in Washington.
The European Union's most powerful leader, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told Zelenskyy online that his "dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people," adding an encouragement that he "be strong, be brave, be fearless," and concluding "you are never alone."
Within just an hour or two of the Oval Office meeting, similar expressions of support and solidarity online came from the Spanish premier, Pedro Sánchez, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and President Petr Pavel, and many others, including Australia's premier, Anthony Albanese.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, whose country recently ended centuries of neutrality in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to join the NATO alliance, said Sweden stood with Ukraine, which was fighting for its own freedom, as well as Europe's.
Germany's current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, also voiced their support, as Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said her country and other European allies stood united "alongside Ukraine — and against the Russian aggression." She said Ukraine could rely on "unwavering" support from Berlin, as well as elsewhere in Europe, and minutes later her Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, also said Kyiv could rely on the Netherlands' support too. "Whatever it takes," Veldkamp wrote, "for as long as it takes."
In Ukraine itself, the reaction was fast — and vociferous. One prominent Ukrainian politician, Mustafa Nayyem, who previously served under Zelenskyy, posted on social media that the Trump administration "doesn't just dislike us. They despise us …. as a country." He said the U.S. leader's "contempt is deeper than indifference, and more dangerous than outright hostility."
At the Kyiv Food Market, a soldier named Denys Sokolov said, "I think the main difference is that Ukraine wants makes peace but Trump wants to make a deal. That's a huge difference in our politics, in our vision to how we want to end the war."
EU foreign policy chief and former Estonian President Kaja Kallas went further in her direct criticism of Trump, saying, "it became clear today that the free world needs a new leader," adding that "it's up to us Europeans, to take this challenge."
In one country bordering Ukraine, Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk who, as president of the European Council, regularly met with Trump during his first term, expressed support for Ukraine too. "Dear Ukrainian friends," he wrote on social media, addressing Zelenskyy and repeating the mantra, "you are not alone."
In Moldova, another Ukrainian neighbor, President Maia Sandu won re-election in a presidential runoff in November. Her government has since publicly shared multiple allegations of Russia's electoral interference, as it continues to confront a Russian-supported breakaway region known as Transnistria. Sandu wrote that "Ukraine defends its freedom - and ours."
Moscow calls Zelenskyy "a dangerous threat"
There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin, but prominent Russian government officials took to social media to praise Trump and savage Zelenskyy — long a favorite target of a Russian propaganda machine that depicts him as fascist, corrupt and drug-addled.
Dmitry Medvedev, the hawkish head of Russia's Security Council, compared Zelenskyy to an "ungrateful pig" who got a "good beat down." "It was useful but not enough," added Medvedev. "[The U.S.] needs to end military aid to the Nazi machine " President Vladimir Putin has claimed Russia's offensive aims to "denazify" Ukraine — whose democratically elected president is Jewish.
In an official comment posted to the Foreign Ministry website, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova seized on Trump's view that, rather than seeking a negotiated peace, Zelenskyy wanted to provoke a wider world war.
"With his ugly and boorish behavior during his time in Washington, Zelenskyy confirmed that he is a dangerous threat to the global community and an irresponsible firebrand for a wider war," Zakharova said.
NPR's Joanna Kakissis contributed reporting from Kyiv and NPR's Charles Maynes reported from Tbilisi, Georgia.
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