Support for Ukraine: European Unity Inhibits Rash Action by United States

Editorial

16:30 JST, August 20, 2025

A recurrence of the situation was narrowly avoided in which U.S. President Donald Trump, who is rushing to achieve success in his mediation diplomacy and strengthening his pro-Russian stance, might press Ukraine to make concessions.

It is significant that Europe united to support Ukraine and halted the U.S.’ reckless behavior.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. After the meeting, Trump revealed on social media that he had begun making arrangements for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

In addition to a separate meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also visited the United States to meet with Trump. It is extremely unusual for seven European leaders to visit Washington by adjusting their schedules in such a short period of time.

The European leaders likely had a sense of urgency to prevent Zelenskyy from being isolated. When Trump welcomed Zelenskyy to the White House in February, the two ended up engaging in a heated argument in front of the press, and the talks broke down.

Prior to his meeting with Zelenskyy this time, Trump met with Putin in the U.S. state of Alaska and expressed his understanding for Russia’s claim of pressing Ukraine to cede some of its territory.

However, if Russia’s barbaric acts of violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in disregard of international law are allowed to become an established fact, stability and order will not be maintained not only in Europe but also in Asia and the rest of the world.

Ahead of the meeting in the United States, an online summit took place of the “coalition of the willing,” a group that supports Ukraine, led by Britain and France. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also participated in the summit and stated that “issues related to sovereignty and territorial integrity are extremely important.”

In order to prevent the interests of other countries from being infringed upon by the logic of major powers, Europe and Japan must unite and uphold international norms.

The issue with the highest priority is how to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump had previously expressed the view that an immediate ceasefire was necessary. However, after his meeting with Putin, he shifted his position to argue that a permanent peace agreement should be sought, rather than a ceasefire.

A peace agreement would first require resolving difficult issues, including the question of who has sovereignty over the regions occupied by Russia. It is not acceptable that Russia is trying to buy time by dragging out negotiations while continuing its aggression in an attempt to create a favorable situation for Moscow.

In fact, even during talks between Trump and the European leaders, Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine with missiles and drones. It is essential to step up pressure on Russia through economic sanctions and other means.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 20, 2025)