Ukraine's leader has challenged US President Donald Trump to visit the country to “see with your own eyes” the suffering caused by four years of war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy extended the invitation on the fourth anniversary of the war, as his European allies remain divided over €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to help fund the war.
In a televised address to the European Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy issued the appeal to Mr Trump, who at times has been critical of the Ukrainian leader and has halted direct funding for weapons.
“Only by visiting Ukraine and seeing our lives and struggles with your own eyes, by understanding our people and the enormity of their pain, can you see what this war is really about,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
The White House has not yet responded to the request, but no senior member of the Trump administration has visited the country. Former US president Joe Biden made a 24-hour trip in 2023.
Mr Zelenskyy also urged Ukraine's allies to sustain their support against Russia's invasion, as splits among Kyiv's European partners overshadowed commemorations. EU states had hoped to agree on a new package of sanctions against Russia, as well as the €90 billion loan for Ukraine but Hungary, which maintains close ties with Moscow, used its veto on both initiatives.
Hungary and Slovakia accuse Kyiv of deliberately blocking supplies of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which Ukraine says it is trying to repair after a Russian strike last month.
European foreign ministers have tried to persuade Hungary and Slovakia to back off from their threats to punish Ukraine for the delays.
Speaking after a meeting of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers in the Belgian capital, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas described Hungary’s position as “regrettable”.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted about the loan on Tuesday, saying there was “no justification for calling this into question” adding that Europe must “now deliver”.
He said that since the front lines had stabilised in November 2022, Russia has taken only 1 per cent of Ukrainian territory, and added that last month Ukraine had regained ground, thought to be 300 square kilometres.
The invader’s 1.2 million casualties was “the highest number of Russian combat casualties since the Second World War”, Mr Macron wrote on X.
But he said Europe, which has already given €170 billion to Ukraine, still needed to support Kyiv “because Ukraine is the first line of defence of our continent”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reinforced the message to his cabinet that the ultimate goal for Ukraine was “just and lasting peace” but said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “standing in the way”.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska are joined in Kyiv's Independence Square on February 24, 2026, by Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden; Evika Siliņa, Prime Minister of Latvia; Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark; Antonio Costa, President of the European Council; Alexander Stubb, President of Finland; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Kristrun Frostadottir, Prime Minister of Iceland; and Jonas Gahr Store, Prime Minister of Norway, at a ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Getty Images -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska and foreign leaders place candles during the ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Independence Square on February 24, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, centre left, greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, centre right, on her arrival in Kyiv, as Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion. AFP -
People visit a memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Independence Square before a ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, centre left, marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London. AFP -
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, left, greets European Council President Antonio Costa upon his arrival in Kyiv. AFP -
The EU Council, left, and EU Commission, right, buildings in Law Street, Brussels, Belgium, are illuminated in the colours of the flag of Ukraine to commemorate the anniversary of the Ukrainian war. EPA -
In Seoul, South Korea, a South Korean protester holds a placard outside the Russian embassy on the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war. AFP -
A moment of silence for the dead on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the town of Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
A memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers at the People's Memorial of National Remembrance in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
People visit the graves of relatives killed during Russia's attack on Ukraine as Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv is illuminated by a large-scale light installation called Lights of Memory. Reuters -
Memorials in the Alley of Heroes at a cemetery in the town of Bucha, Kyiv region, pay tribute to the dead on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion. Reuters -
A woman prays next to a portrait of a relative while she visits a memorial dedicated to Ukrainian defenders on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion, in Kyiv. Reuters -
Polyna visits the grave of her brother-in-law, killed during the Russian invasion at Irpin cemetery. Getty Images
When Russia first launched its full invasion, it was widely assumed it would seize the country within weeks. Mr Starmer on Tuesday paid tribute to the “incredible resilience of the Ukrainians”. He said: “Four years later, the Ukrainians are holding out against that aggression."
In a statement released following the meeting of more than 30 countries from the Coalition of the Willing, the leaders offered their “full and unwavering support to Ukraine in its struggle for its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
They reaffirmed that international borders must not be changed by force and welcomed US efforts on peace negotiations, and urged Russia to “accept a full and unconditional ceasefire”.
Pipeline sanctions
Britain also announced on the anniversary “a landmark sanctions package” that would cut off “critical oil revenue funding Putin’s war machine”.
It will target one of the world’s largest oil pipeline companies, PJSC Transneft, that is responsible for transporting more 80 per cent of Russian oil exports.
The UK Foreign Office said international sanctions had deprived Russia of $450 billion, the equivalent of two more years of funding for its war.
Refugees stay away
A new report has found the majority of the almost six million Ukrainians who fled their homeland after the 2022 invasion wish to remain in their place of refuge.
A poll conducted by the University of Copenhagen and Rockwool Foundation revealed that 76 per cent of Ukrainians now living in Denmark wanted to remain there, even when the war no longer poses a threat to their hometown.
A year earlier that figure stood at 69 per cent, suggesting that “the longer the war goes on, the more refugees want to stay” rather than return to Ukraine, said Mette Foged, a professor at the Danish university.
Prof Foged said that in 2023, only half had wanted to stay and “this may also be relevant in other countries where Ukrainians have sought refuge”.
Three quarters of those who fled to Denmark worry daily that they could be forced home, as Ukrainians live only under a temporary status, according to restrictive Danish immigration laws.
Russia's recruitment crunch
Amid the European political infighting are some glimmers of hope for Ukraine, after western officials reported that, for the first time in the war, Russia has lost more men than it can recruit over a three-month period.
Moscow is losing more than 35,000 soldiers in terms of dead and wounded each month and Ukraine aims to raise that figure to 50,000, using a new range of ground robots and attack drones.
More worrying for the Kremlin is that any drop in its supply of manpower will have a significant impact on its ability to launch a spring or summer offensive.
“They can't recruit enough people, given the losses,” one western official said. “The Russians lost more men over last three months than they were able to recruit. That is really significant in their ability to generate enough forces in order to undertake a summer offensive.
Meanwhile, Al Carns, the UK Armed Forces Minister, said the “operational cost on Russia has been absolutely unimaginable”, with 1.25 million casualties. “That’s more than America in the entirety of the Second World War,” he said.
He added that Russia had lost more than 4,000 tanks and 10,000 armed vehicles, and its Black Sea naval fleet “arguably destroyed by a navy [Ukraine's] which doesn’t have any ships”.
Mr Carns suggested that if Mr Putin began recruiting from major Russian cities, it would “start to fracture some of his political support”.
