Ukraine marks three years of war

US stays away as European leaders rally around President Zelenskiy

KYIV:

Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia, while top US officials stayed away in a clear illustration of President Donald Trump's lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.

Still reeling from Trump calling President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a "dictator" and seeking elections that are banned by martial law, Kyiv said it was in the final stages of agreeing a deal with Washington to provide access to its mineral wealth.

"We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come," Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X, suggesting Kyiv is angling for a meeting with Trump soon.

The deal is at the heart of Kyiv's bid to win US support, but officials have wrangled over its wording in the shadow of an extraordinary war of words between Trump and Zelenskiy, who said the US leader was living in a "disinformation bubble". Zelenskiy refused to sign an earlier draft as Washington sought $500 billion in natural wealth, protesting that Kyiv had received nowhere near that much US aid and that the draft lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.

A Ukrainian government source told Reuters that Kyiv awaited US feedback on the "final changes" it had sent. The source said the US did not like the idea of including wording about providing security guarantees in the text. "We see the issue of guarantees for the talks between presidents," the source said.

Zelenskiy, who has told Europe to create its own army while urging Washington to be pragmatic, welcomed a slew of European and other leaders to a summit in Kyiv to commemorate the start in 2022 of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two. "This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace. Putin will not gift us this peace, nor will he give it to us in exchange for anything. We have to win peace with strength, wisdom and unity - with our cooperation," he said.

The visitors included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Leaders of Albania, Britain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey spoke by video link. Reuters