French President Emmanuel Macron, newly appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to show their support for Ukraine and to urge Moscow to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Their arrival follows the military parade in Moscow on Friday, where President Vladimir Putin commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping among others. The Western leaders view their visit as a symbolic counterbalance.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine and intensify pressure on the Russian war machine until Moscow agrees to a sustainable ceasefire,” stated a joint declaration by the four leaders.
Macron, Merz, and Starmer travelled by train from Poland, while Tusk arrived separately and shared a video of his arrival on social media. In Kyiv, they were welcomed by Ukraine’s senior adviser Andriy Yermak and Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.
Later in the day, they participated in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Tusk—a group of around 30 countries ready to offer security guarantees to Ukraine after a peace agreement. The leaders indicated that steps are being taken towards a future international coalition with air, land, and sea capabilities, led by France and the United Kingdom.
U.S. President Donald Trump had already called on Moscow on Thursday to agree to an “unconditional 30-day ceasefire,” threatening new sanctions if refused.
