The list of dignitaries who have come to kyiv in is a reflection of the situation in Ukraine when . The country can count on everything. The United States, however, is absent from the list of leaders participating this Tuesday in the commemoration of the beginning of the largest conflict on European soil since World War II.
The capital that four years ago woke up deserted, overwhelmed by the sound of explosions that confirmed that Moscow had given the order to invade, is a coming and going of cars with diplomatic license plates and streets closed to traffic. It is not a day of celebration, but it is a day of commemoration.
The presidents of the European Commission and the Council, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, have traveled to kyiv to support the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. They hoped to be able to make official that the EU wants to give a financial boost to Ukraine. In addition to the 20th package of sanctions against Moscow, to pressure the aggressor and force its position at the negotiating table. The Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultra-conservative Viktor Orbán, has boycotted the offering.
Orbán, the closest ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the EU, has raised his anti-Ukraine bet immersed in an electoral campaign that could jeopardize his power in the April elections. Now it also has the support of the Slovak Robert Fico. A reminder that the Kremlin’s tentacles are long and .
The United States, Ukraine’s main ally in the first years of the war, has ceased to be the great support that the country counted on. Donald Trump has other priorities and considers the conflict between Ukraine and Russia a European problem. The American president turned off the tap on military aid, which European allies must now buy from their manufacturers to then send to Ukraine.
American capabilities remain essential, however. Washington’s power, as Europe seeks its place in the new world order, is also crucial for Ukraine compared to Moscow’s. The Trump Administration exhibits that authority by pressuring Zelensky and directing the peace negotiations, in which Europe has no say. But it has not sent any high-level representatives to the anniversary.
Zelensky knows that Europe, with all its limitations, is his greatest support in this phase of the war, to which there is still no end in sight. In a speech by videoconference before the European Parliament, Zelensky insisted this Tuesday on the need for Ukraine to become another member of the EU as soon as possible – he claims that by 2027 –, reports Silvia Ayuso.
“For us, it is very, very important to have a clear date to join the EU,” said the Ukrainian president. For Ukraine, it is about acting preventively in the face of what it considers future and certain attempts by Putin to prevent kyiv’s access to the community bloc: “If there is no date, if there is no such guarantee, he will find a way to block Ukraine for decades by dividing you, dividing Europe. We must protect ourselves from this,” Zelensky insisted. , as even the Member States that are willing to welcome Ukraine have already stated.
The presence of Von der Leyen and Costa is a clear sign that European will exists. A meeting of the volunteer coalition was also held, the initiative promoted by the United Kingdom and France to seek formulas to guarantee peace after a hypothetical ceasefire, and which includes the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine. Spain is also represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
Heads of State and Government of the Nordic and Baltic countries, who feel the threat from Russia closer, have also gone to kyiv, where they plan to hold a summit in the afternoon.
