Before Volodymyr Zelenskyy even steps into the Oval Office, he is being greeted in Washington by a powerful welcome committee of European leaders. Their mission is to provide a wall of support for the Ukrainian president, who is bracing for a difficult meeting with Donald Trump and his pro-Russia “peace plan.”
This welcoming party is acting as Zelenskyy’s “bodyguards,” a pointed gesture meant to show that he is not arriving in the US capital alone or vulnerable. The European allies are there to ensure his last bruising encounter with Trump is not repeated.
The committee is composed of Europe’s most influential figures. It includes NATO’s Mark Rutte and the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen, representing the continent’s key institutions. It also features the leaders of the most powerful European nations, including France’s Macron, Germany’s Merz, and the UK’s Starmer.
Their presence before the meeting is a strategic move to set the tone and frame the stakes. It sends a clear signal to the White House that the upcoming discussion is not just a bilateral meeting between the US and Ukraine, but a matter of vital interest to the entire transatlantic alliance.