Ahead of President Trump’s summit with President Putin, it was vital Ukraine’s European allies presented a united front and that’s exactly what we got following a string of virtual meetings.
The German chancellor, the EU Commission chief and NATO’s top official were among the leaders to celebrate the productive call with Donald Trump.
Germany’s leader Friedrich Merz said the positions of Ukraine, its European allies and US were “very much in agreement” – well on most points, at least.
And that’s important because Wednesday was possibly the last chance they had to lay down their red lines and try to influence Trump’s thinking before his summit with Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday.
The points they pushed on aren’t new: they said Ukraine must be at the table for any discussions on its future, that a ceasefire must be the starting point, that Europe’s security must be upheld in the talks and that Ukraine must get future security guarantees.
President Zelenskyy warned he believed that Moscow’s only desire was the total occupation of Ukraine and urged Trump to apply maximum pressure if Putin didn’t show any commitment to ending the fighting.
All this seems sensible, and we are told Trump listened to their requests.
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He certainly indicated to reporters later that there would be consequences if Vladimir Putin did not agree to stop the war when they met.
The careful planning of Wednesday’s calls show how crucial the next few days could be in deciding what happens in the war in Ukraine.
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Before Wednesday’s meeting with the US, Ukraine held discussions with its biggest European backers and NATO where they agreed on their main points.
Sources say it meant that when the US asked, “What do you want?” they could reply with joint and clear answers.
Security on both calls was tight – the European round was held in a secure, soundproof room at the German Chancellery, while the meeting with Donald Trump was audio only.
Sources suggest, following the discussions, that concerns that Friday’s meeting could spiral in an unplanned way have significantly reduced.
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The UK’s prime minister was especially positive, saying at a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing attended by JD Vance that there’s now a viable chance of a ceasefire thanks to Trump.
And if the US president sticks to the script, that hope could well be realised.
The problem is, he rarely does, which could make Friday’s meeting even more high stakes.
