DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at his European allies on Thursday, saying the continent’s response to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago and its ongoing international aggression has been slow, fragmented and inadequate.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky cited a series of grievances and criticisms of Europe that he said left Ukraine at the mercy of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the United States continued to push for a peaceful solution.
“Europe looks lost,” Zelensky said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global force. He contrasted Europe’s response with Washington’s bold moves in Venezuela and Iran.
The former comedian mentioned the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the main character must relive the same day over and over again.
“Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with these words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. Nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I have to say the same thing again,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainians, he said, also seemed caught up in the reality of war, “repeating the same thing for weeks, months and, of course, years. But this is how we live now. This is our life.”
European countries, which believe their future defense is at risk in the war on its eastern flank, have provided financial, military and humanitarian support to Kyiv, but not all members of the 27-nation EU are helping. Ukraine is also frustrated by political divisions within Europe over how to deal with Russia and the EU’s sometimes slow response.
Meeting with Trump
His remarks followed a roughly hour-long closed-door meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, which Trump described as “very good.” Zelensky called them “productive and meaningful.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from Davos that his meeting with Zelensky went well, adding that the Ukrainian president told him he wanted a deal to end the war.
“I had a good meeting, but I had a lot of good meetings with President Zelensky, and that doesn’t seem to be happening,” he said.
Trump noted that both Putin and Zelensky wanted a deal and that “everyone was making concessions” to try to end the war.
He said the sticking points in the talks were the same as those held over the past six or seven months, noting “borders” as a key issue. “The main obstacles are the same as last year,” he said.
Trump said he and Zelensky talked about how Ukrainians endured the cold winter without heating.
“This has been really hard on the people of Ukraine,” Trump said, noting it was “amazing” residents were able to hold on through the winter in the face of Russia’s relentless attacks. “This is not a way to survive,” he said.
Since the start of hostilities in 2014 and a full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia’s larger military has succeeded in occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s territory. But battlefield gains along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front have been costly for Moscow, whose economy is feeling the consequences of the war and international sanctions.
Ukraine is cash-strapped and, despite significantly improving its own weapons manufacturing, still needs Western weapons. The front lines were also undermanned. Ukraine’s defense minister reported last week that about 200,000 soldiers had deserted and about 2 million Ukrainians had evaded military service.
Zelensky has also worked to keep the world’s attention on Ukraine despite other conflicts.
Zelensky says he is inactive on key decisions
He accused Europe of being slow to make key decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop Russia’s “shadow tanker fleet” that violates international sanctions, and being unwilling to use its frozen assets in Europe to fund Ukraine.
Europe, he said, “still feels more like a geography, a history, a tradition than a real political power, not a great power.”
“Some Europeans are really strong, that’s true, but many people say we have to be strong and they always want someone to tell them how long they need to be strong, preferably until the next election,” he said.
The Trump administration is pushing for a peace settlement, with its envoys shuttling between Kiev and Moscow for a series of negotiations that some fear could force Ukraine into an unfavorable deal.
conference in moscow
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkov and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow late Thursday and held more than three hours of talks with Putin, the Kremlin reported.
Witkov said in Davos that there was a major issue still to be resolved in negotiations, but did not say what it was. Zelensky said the future status of lands in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia has not yet been resolved, but that peace proposals are “close to being ready.”
He said that if a deal was reached, the United States and Ukraine would agree on post-war security guarantees, although that would require approval from both countries.
Zelensky said a two-day trilateral meeting involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia will take place in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
“The Russians have to be prepared to compromise because, you know, everyone has to be prepared, not just Ukraine, and that’s important for us,” he said.
The relationship between Trump and Zelensky has been contentious, with the U.S. president at times rebuking Putin.
Zelensky said he was grateful to Trump for providing the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, which could help prevent Russian missiles from repeatedly attacking Ukraine’s power grid, leaving Ukrainian civilians without lights, heat and running water. He said he asked Trump for more.
After Trump cut support for Ukraine, other NATO countries began buying weapons from the United States and donating them to Kiev under a special financial arrangement.
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Khrabchuk reported from Kiev, Ukraine. Josh Boak in Air Force One, Meg Kinnard in Houston and Ali Swenson in Washington contributed to this report.
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