"Support Ukraine": European Leaders Arrive in Kyiv for Summit
On the morning of 24 February, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, arrived in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrun Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson.
On the third anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale war, the leaders of partner countries will meet in the Ukrainian capital to discuss peace, security guarantees and the future of collective security.
The Support Ukraine Summit was opened by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In particular, he said that Ukraine was ready to exchange prisoners with Russia in the ‘all for all’ format. Zelenskyy also said that he had handed over a document with a ‘list of all ceasefires with specific dates’ to US President Trump through Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Kellogg.
According to Zelenskyy, the end of the war should begin with steps that restore confidence in the situation itself, as there is no trust in Russia.
For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine, pressure on Russia must be increased. He confirmed this with the readiness of the British military to participate in a peacekeeping mission and announced new sanctions against Russia's ‘shadow fleet’.
‘We must increase the pressure even more to ensure a lasting peace, not just to suspend hostilities. And we can do this in three ways. First, by increasing military support for Ukraine. The UK is doing that by providing £4.5 billion in military aid this year, more than ever before,’ he said.
The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, believes that continued military support for Ukraine by its partners is the only way to win the war. He also outlined several stages of his vision for a future peaceful settlement. The Finnish president spoke at the Support Ukraine Summit, which is taking place in Kyiv on 24 February with the participation of world leaders.
Among other things, Stubb stressed that if Russia gets what it wants now, it will not stop at Ukraine. He is convinced that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will continue his military aggression because he thinks ‘about imperialism and spheres of interest’.
As reported by The Gaze, earlier on 24 February, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa also arrived in Kyiv to attend the summit in support of Ukraine.