Zelensky thanks EU leaders for standing by Ukraine's side

We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words,

the Ukrainian president told reporters as the talks kicked off, standing alongside EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa

This is a watershed moment for Europe,

said von der Leyen, who has laid out a plan aimed at mobilising 800 billion euros to "re-arm Europe" faced with the threat from Russia

Emmanuel Macronpresident

Who can believe that this Russia of today will stop at Ukraine?"

Macron asked

Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself,

the commission chief told reporters

It's also watershed moment for Ukraine,

she added

There is a strategic divide, a transatlantic rift between the majority of Europe and the USA under President Trump,

Orbán said ahead of the summit, setting the tone

This is a debate that is premature. We do not have a peace agreement, we do not even have negotiations to achieve a ceasefire. It's premature to specify what needs to be done,

said a senior EU official

Emmanuel Macronpresident

The United States of America, our ally, has changed its position on this war, supporting Ukraine less, and leaving doubt about what comes next,

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech

The initiative will be clearly mentioned. It only needs to be worked out more,

said a senior EU diplomat

There can be no negotiations that affect European security without Europe's involvement,

the draft conclusions say

It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides,

Trump told Congress

Yulia Tymoshenkoukrainian opposition leader

Ukraine—and President Zelensky said this clearly—is ready for talks to end the war under strong leadership of President Trump. The Batkivshchyna team is negotiating with all our allies who can help secure a just and peaceful solution as soon as possible. Until that moment, and I have said this more than once, there can be no talk of holding any elections in Ukraine."

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (Batkivshchyna party) said on Facebook

I think it is good for democracy. That's the beauty of a solid democracy, you have more than one person potentially running,

said Kellogg

Political competition [over elections] during a war can destroy the country from the inside,

Kyiv’s mayor said

Putin wants to weaken Ukraine from within. Putin also wants to remove Zelensky, maybe even using Trump, because right now Zelensky is a symbol of Ukrainian resistance for the whole world and he will never agree to conditions tantamount to surrender of Ukraine,

said Oleksandr Morezkho, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee and member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party

We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.

He said

Poroshenko’s people and Yulia, they’re all talking to Trump World, positioning themselves as people who would be easier to work with. And people who would consent to many of the things that Zelenskyy is not agreeing to,

Nonetheless ... a top Republican foreign policy expert told POLITICO, asking that his name be withheld so he could speak freely

The elites are feeling very disoriented and shocked because they understand very clearly that without United States support, Ukraine will be defeated,

Bortnik added

You would have to prevent me from participating in the elections,

he said, before suggesting, as he has previously,

We are seeing some political factions starting to move,

said Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Politics