Visitors included the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
The high-profile guests were welcomed at Kyiv’s train station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak.
“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake,” she wrote. “It’s Europe’s destiny.”
Western leaders will attend several events marking the passage of three years since Russia sent troops into eastern Ukraine, four regions of which Moscow later effectively annexed.
They are also expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterate their countries’ support for Kyiv’s embattled war effort.
The war anniversary coincides with a critical juncture for Ukraine and its main European backers.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have continued to make gains in the Donbas region (comprising Luhansk and Donetsk), where they have captured several key positions.
‘A Lot of Contacts’
Last week, top U.S. and Russian diplomatic officials held landmark talks in Saudi Arabia. European and Ukrainian representatives were not invited.Both sides hailed the talks as constructive, with U.S. officials signaling an intention to reestablish diplomatic ties with Moscow and resume bilateral cooperation.
On Feb. 22, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said preparations were in the works for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Communication is maintained in various spheres,” Ryabkov told Russia’s TASS news agency on Feb. 23. “And it often doesn’t take long to agree them.”
Several European capitals have demanded a presence at any negotiations over Ukraine’s future.
As Western leaders arrived in Kyiv, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that any talks aimed at ending the conflict must include Ukraine, along with the country’s main European supporters.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Kallas drew attention to what she claimed were pro-Russian positions being adopted by the Trump administration.
“If you look at the messages that come from the United States, then it’s clear that the Russian narrative is very strongly represented,” she said.
Last week, Trump described Zelenskyy, whose presidential term expired last year, as an unpopular “dictator” and called on Kyiv to hold fresh elections as soon as possible.
Zelenskyy responded by suggesting that the U.S. president had been duped by Russian “disinformation.”
Kallas, who will visit Washington this week for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, said that Trump was free to discuss whatever he wanted with Putin.
“But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” she said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are both set to visit the United States this week in hopes of persuading the Trump administration not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal with Russia.
A day before he arrived in Kyiv, Costa unveiled plans to convene an emergency meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on March 6, with Ukraine topping the agenda.
