EU leaders emphasize that no decisions on Ukraine can be taken without Ukraine, or behind their backs

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders stressed Thursday that no decisions on the future of war-ravaged Ukraine can be made without its consent or behind the backs of its partners in Europe, just a month before the new U.S. President Donald Trump takes office.

Ukraine’s position is precarious after more than a thousand days of war. Russia continues to make gains on the battlefield, gradually pushing the front line westward despite heavy losses. Ukraine’s energy network is in ruins and military recruits are hard to find.

In a show of solidarity at a summit in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, many EU leaders repeated a variation of what has become a common mantra: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about security in Europe without Europeans.

Trump returns to the White House on January 20 after vowing to quickly end the war in Ukraine and discussing his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many Europeans are concerned that this could result in a bad deal for Ukraine.

The other major concern is that Putin will simply use any interregnum to rearm and cause even more conflict.

Rumors are swirling in Europe about possible peace talks in early 2025, and whether European peacekeepers might be needed to enforce a solution. hand to Russia.

The priority now, they say, must be to strengthen Ukraine’s hand, should Zelenskiy decide it is time to negotiate.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it is important to “guarantee long-term assistance to Ukraine – it must be clear that we are ready to enable support for as long as it is needed.” Air defense, artillery and ammunition are high on the list, he told reporters.

When asked about Trump, Scholz said that his impression from conversations with the newly elected president “is that good cooperation between Europe and the US is possible.” He said that “the principle is always: no decisions over the heads of the Ukrainians, and that obviously means over those of the European states.”

Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden had a similar message.

“We must stand with Ukraine, and every step must be taken together with Ukraine and in the presence of the European Union. Ukraine’s future will be decided in Europe and not elsewhere,” he said.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof underlined that Ukraine must be the country that “determines under what circumstances talks can possibly take place. And it’s not for us to talk about that. At this time, Ukraine has not yet indicated that it is willing to do so.”

It’s hard to predict what Trump might do, or whether history could be a reliable guide.

Under his previous presidency, in 2020, the United States reached an agreement directly with the strongest player – the Taliban insurgents – on a military withdrawal from Afghanistan, largely downplaying the concerns of the Afghan government and president.

The chaotic exit in 2021, ultimately ordered by US President Joe Biden, humiliated Washington and its allies in NATO as the Afghan security forces they had trained for years and invested billions in collapsed and the Taliban came to power.

In Ukraine, the 27-nation EU has provided at least as much support – more than €180 billion since Russia began its full-fledged invasion almost three years ago – as the United States.

But while the world’s largest trading bloc can likely continue to prop up Ukraine’s devastated economy, it is almost certainly unlikely that the EU will be able to provide the military support the country’s armed forces would need to gain the upper hand.

“From the beginning of next year, we need a lot of unity between the United States and the EU, and between the countries of Europe,” Zelensky told reporters at the summit. “Only together can the United States and Europe stop Putin and save Ukraine.”

“It is very difficult to support Ukraine without American help,” he said.

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Raf Casert in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.