European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned against the 'unilateral carving up of a sovereign European nation' as Europe scrambles to assert influence over US-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Speaking to European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday, she said Russia showed 'no signs of true willingness to end the conflict' and continued to operate in a mindset unchanged since the 1945 Yalta summit.
'So we need to be clear that there cannot be unilateral carving up of a sovereign European nation, and that borders cannot be changed by force,' von der Leyen said. 'If today we legitimise and formalise the undermining of borders, we open the doors for more wars tomorrow, and we cannot let this happen.'
The US continues to push for an end to the conflict. Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow early next week, while US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will meet the Ukrainian side. Von der Leyen welcomed Trump's efforts as 'a starting point' but made clear Europe had concerns about the original 28-point US-Russian plan, some of which have since been removed, Ukraine has said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was 'zero indication that Russia is ready for a ceasefire'. 'We still need to get from a situation where Russia pretends to negotiate to a situation where they need to negotiate,' she said. Kallas also rejected the notion that Ukraine is losing, noting Russia's 'failed' summer offensive and the impact of Western sanctions.
Von der Leyen argued against limits on Ukraine's armed forces, saying such restrictions would 'leave the country vulnerable to future attacks'. She added that Ukraine needed 'robust, credible and long-term security guarantees'. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Wednesday it was premature to speak about a peace deal in the near future.
