WORLD NEWS – European leaders support Zelenskyy following his intense meeting with Trump
Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Leaders from across Europe have come to the defense of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his intense sit down in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Many European leaders publicly pushed back against claims made by the Trump administration because of Trump’s apparent alignment and friendship with Russian leader Vladamir Putin.
In addition, Trump and Vance’s berating of Zelenskiy during their meeting has made numerous leaders in Europe speak out in support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first and most vocal world leaders to speak out against Trump and Vance. Macron was the most pointed in his public statements and made a clear distinction between who he deemed to be the “aggressor and the “victim in the war. He went on to say that nations, including France, who had helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia when the war first began nearly three years ago after Russia’s initial invasion in February were “right in their actions and should continue to do so. In addition to statements made by Macron, France’s prime minister François Bayrou praised Zelenskiy as the honor of Europe for “refusing to bend. This is despite the open criticism that he faced from Vance and Trump. Bayrou’s statement said, “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.
In addition to these statements, the Eiffel Tower was lit up in blue and yellow on Friday to represent the Ukrainian flag. Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also visited Trump this week in an attempt to hammer home the need for continued military aid to Ukraine. The officials alongside other European leaders have stressed the importance of keeping the U.S. aligned with Europe in any peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
