KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Monday marked the bleakest anniversary yet of its war against the Russia invasion, with the country's forces under severe pressure on the battlefield and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration apparently embracing the Kremlin in a reversal of American policy.
The three-year milestone drew more than a dozen Western leaders to Kyiv for commemorative events in a conspicuous show of support. They warned of the war’s wider implications for global security and vowed to keep providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as uncertainty deepens over the U.S. commitment to help. Washington did not send any senior official to the occasion.
Hours after the anniversary observances, Trump said he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war. Separately, Putin suggested that European countries could be part of a settlement, but he also said that he had not discussed resolving the conflict in detail with Trump.
The fourth year of fighting could be pivotal as Trump uses his return to office to press for peace.
“The autocrats around the world are watching very carefully whether there’s any impunity if you violate international borders or invade your neighbor, or if there is true deterrence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in Kyiv.
Some observers say Russian success in Ukraine could . Just as Moscow claims that Ukraine is rightfully Russian territory, China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own. and have also aided Russia's war effort.
In a for Kyiv, Trump has in recent days called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, suggested Ukraine is to blame for the war and ended Putin’s three-year diplomatic isolation by the United States. U.S. officials have also indicated to Ukraine that its hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably won’t get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20% of the country.
On the battlefield, Putin’s troops are making steady progress, while Ukraine grapples with shortages of troops and weapons.
Alarm bells sound in Europe as Washington changes course
The shift in Washington's policy has set off alarm bells in Europe, where governments fear being sidelined by the U.S. in efforts to secure a peace deal. They are mulling how they might pick up the slack of any cut in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The changes have strained transatlantic relations.
European Council President Antonio Costa announced Sunday that he would convene of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels on March 6, with Ukraine at the top of the agenda.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are this week.
EU foreign ministers on Monday approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia. The measures target Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships that it uses to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU said 74 vessels were added to its shadow fleet list.
Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 83 officials and “entities” — usually government agencies, banks or companies.
Britain, too, imposed new sanctions aimed at 107 businesses and individuals in what it says is its biggest package targeting Russia’s war machine since the early days of the conflict in 2022. The measures are designed to disrupt the Kremlin's military supply chains.
Starmer said Ukrainian voices “must be at the heart of the drive for peace” and that Trump’s intervention had “changed the global conversation” and “created an opportunity.”
“Russia does not hold all the cards in this war," he said.
Coming off a , conservative leader Friedrich Merz — also a staunch backer of Ukraine — posted on X: “More than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength."
“For a fair peace, the country that is under attack must be part of peace negotiations,” he wrote.
Diplomacy ramps up after record Russian drone attack
On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest single drone attack of the war, pounding Ukraine with 267 drones.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, insisted that the U.S. cannot seal any peace deal without Ukraine or Europe being involved.
“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin. But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels, where she led a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Kallas is scheduled to travel to Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council that called for a swift end to the Ukraine war but made no mention of Russian aggression. Earlier Monday, the U.N. General Assembly rejected the resolution, which passed only after it was amended to state that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”
Washington and Moscow draw closer
Trump said he thought Putin would not object to European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump . “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”
In remarks broadcast on state television, Putin said he had not talked with Trump in detail about ending the war, and neither did Russian and American negotiating teams when they met last week in Saudi Arabia.
Russia, he said, does not rule out European countries participating in a peace settlement.
Putin has previously said that European or U.S forces in Ukraine would be a major security issue for Russia. He has never publicly indicated that he would accept Western troops in Ukraine, and multiple Russian officials have said that would be a red line for Moscow.
Referring to , Putin said he would be interested in exploring similar opportunities with Trump, saying Russia has “significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine.”
Russian and American officials discussed improving economic ties during , and if U.S. companies come to work in Russia, it will be “a benefit and a considerable one,” Putin said, suggesting cooperation could be in the rare earth minerals, aluminum and energy sectors.
Putin also said he is “not against” Trump’s by half and is “ready for discussion in this regard.”
“I think it’s a good idea. The U.S. would cut by 50 percent, and we would cut by 50 percent, and then China would join if it wanted,” Putin said.
Russia has massively ramped up defense spending since its invasion of Ukraine, and the economy has effectively pivoted to a war footing. Many Russians have become accustomed to higher salaries as a labor shortage caused by the war means the Russian military and employers compete to hire them.
Russia's foreign ministry said Saturday that between Trump and Putin were underway.
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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.
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