G7 leaders will hold a crucial morning session with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday at the Evian summit in France, seeking a unified response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The meeting comes as US President Donald Trump turns his attention from the Middle East back to Eastern Europe, after announcing a deal with Iran aimed at halting hostilities and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
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European leaders are expected to press Trump to maintain pressure on Moscow and avoid forcing Kyiv into concessions.
Zelensky demands decisive response to strikes
Zelensky arrived at the summit after urging G7 leaders to deliver a “decisive and substantive” response to Russia’s latest wave of strikes. The attacks killed 11 people and sparked a major fire at Kyiv’s historic Dormition Cathedral inside the Pechersk Lavra.
The president said Monday that Ukraine had proposed a high-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G7 summit to discuss ending the war, but Moscow rejected the offer.
“We offered Putin a meeting anywhere [so] real decisions to end the war could be made. He does not want it,” Zelensky wrote on X after his intervention at the EU Intergovernmental Conference.
Trump, who spoke by phone with both Zelensky and Putin, struck an optimistic tone upon arrival.
“Maybe we can do something,” Trump said regarding Ukraine.
“They’re both open to it,” he added. “I had two very good conversations yesterday.”
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Europe seeks to keep pressure on Moscow
European leaders, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, are expected to use the session with Zelensky to underline that any peace deal must be based on Ukraine’s terms and must not reward Russian aggression.
The talks come amid intense debate over how far Washington is willing to go in pressuring Moscow, as Trump continues to present himself as a potential mediator.
The UK is also moving to strengthen Ukraine’s long-term energy security. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said London would help supply enriched uranium for Ukraine’s nuclear power stations while imposing new sanctions aimed at cutting off revenues that fund Russia’s war.
Denouncing Russia’s “barbaric strikes,” Starmer said the UK was stepping up to help power Ukraine through the winters ahead.
The stakes for European security
The image of the burning Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has shifted the emotional landscape of the summit, giving European leaders a stark symbol of Russia’s disregard for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot compared Russia’s strike on the Lavra to bombing Notre-Dame or Saint-Denis, calling the attack “obviously unacceptable” and describing Putin’s war as colonial.
“In Ukraine, once again last night, Vladimir Putin’s Russia showed the extent of its cruelty by massively striking the capital, Kyiv, causing extremely severe damage to the Dormition Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which for us, the French, is the equivalent of bombing Notre-Dame or Saint-Denis,” Barrot said.
For France and other European allies, the damage to a UNESCO-recognized site is not only a Ukrainian tragedy, but a warning that Russia’s war is also aimed at Europe’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
A testing ground for Trump’s mediation
The closed-door morning session will serve as a major diplomatic test for Trump’s proposed fast-track peace effort.
While Trump says both Kyiv and Moscow are open to talks, European leaders remain wary of Russia’s intentions, especially as Moscow intensifies its air campaign against Ukrainian cities.
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