What assurances did Zelensky receive from European leaders in London at a “crucial” moment for Ukraine and “decisive for all of us”

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain held a rally in London on Monday to show their strong support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time they described as “crucial” for Kiev, under pressure from the US to accept the peace deal with Russia, writes Reuters.

In a hastily arranged meeting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelenski said they wanted to draw up firm plans in the event of a peace deal.

A British government source said the leaders would discuss using the value of frozen Russian assets. Earlier, the leaders of Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden urged the European Union to act quickly on a proposal to use frozen assets to provide funding to Ukraine.

Starmer, Macron, Merz and Zelenski will also want to continue efforts to secure security guarantees from the US to deter any further attacks from Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The release of the US cease-fire plan last month went some way to focusing the attention of European leaders, who fear Ukraine could be forced to accept terms favorable to Moscow, which some say could destabilize the continent.

“I am delighted to see you here, almost four years after this terrible conflict began, at a crucial moment in the peace effort,” Starmer said after welcoming the leaders to his Downing Street residence.

“We stand with Ukraine, and if there is to be a ceasefire, it must be fair and lasting,” Starmer said.

Macron and Merz also expressed their determination to press ahead with a firm plan, at a time the German chancellor described as “decisive (…) for all of us”.

Zelenski stressed the delicate balance that European powers must strike in their bid to negotiate better terms for the US-proposed plan.

“There are some things we can't manage without the Americans, things we can't manage without Europe, so we have to make some important decisions,” Zelenskiy said.

Zelensky's priorities

Zelensky told Ukrainians in a video speech broadcast late Sunday that it was the start of a “new diplomatic week.”

“First of all, security issues, support for our resistance and support packages for our defense. First of all, air defense and long-term financing for Ukraine. Of course, we will discuss a common vision and common positions in the negotiations,” the Kiev leader said.

Ukraine is going through one of the most difficult stages of the war that has been going on for almost four years.

Russian troops are slowly advancing in the east, and Ukrainian cities and towns are experiencing hours-long power outages as Russian attacks on the power grid and other critical infrastructure intensify.

US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, presented a revised plan in Moscow last week, then held several days of additional talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami that ended Saturday without any progress.

Zelenski described the talks as constructive, but not easy.

On Sunday, Trump said he was “disappointed” with Zelenskiy and claimed the Ukrainian leader had not read the latest US-backed peace deal proposal.

Zelenskiy's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said he would brief the Ukrainian leader on his team's dialogue with US officials and that President Zelenskiy would receive all documents related to the peace plan.

“The main task of the Ukrainian team was to get from the American side full information about their conversation in Moscow and all current draft proposals in order to discuss them in detail with the president of Ukraine,” Umerov said.

US officials said they were in the final stages of finalizing an agreement. But so far there have been no signs that Ukraine or Russia would be willing to sign the framework agreement drawn up by Trump's negotiating team.