Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at his European allies on Thursday for what he described as the continent’s slow, fragmented and inadequate response to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago and its continued international aggression.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe that he said have left Ukraine at the mercy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid continued U.S. efforts for a peace settlement.
“Europe seems lost,” Zelensky said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global force. He compared the European response to Washington’s bold steps in Venezuela and Iran.
The former comedic actor referenced the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the main character has to relive the same day over and over again.
“Last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with these words: Europe must know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I have to repeat the same words,” Zelensky said.
He said Ukrainians also seem caught in this reality of war, “repeating the same thing for weeks, months and, of course, years. And yet, this is exactly how we live now. This is our life.”
His speech came after he met behind closed doors for about an hour in Davos with US President Donald Trump, who described the discussions as “very good”. Zelensky called them “productive and meaningful.”
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European countries, which see their own future defense at stake in the war on its eastern flank, have provided financial, military and humanitarian support to kyiv, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are providing aid. Ukraine has also been frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc’s sometimes slow responses.
Russia’s largest army has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022. But battlefield gains along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line have been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the consequences of war and international sanctions.
Ukraine is short of money and, although it has significantly increased its own arms manufacturing, it still needs Western weapons. He is also shorthanded on the front line. His defense minister last week reported some 200,000 desertions of soldiers and the avoidance of around 2 million Ukrainians.
Zelensky is also working to keep the world’s attention on Ukraine despite other conflicts.
Zelensky speaks of inaction on key decisions
He criticized Europe for being slow to act on key decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop the “ghost fleet” of Russian tankers violating international sanctions and being reluctant to use its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine, among other things.
Europe, he said, “looks even more like a geography, a history, a tradition, and not a real political force, nor a great power.”
“Some Europeans are really strong, that’s true, but many say we have to stay strong, and they always want someone else to tell them how long they have to stay strong, preferably until the next election,” he said.
The Trump administration is pushing for a peace deal, with its envoys shuttling between kyiv and Moscow in a flurry of negotiations that some fear could force Ukraine into an unfavorable deal.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday evening and spoke with Putin, the Kremlin said.
A major problem remains to be resolved in the negotiations, Witkoff said in Davos, without specifying what it was. Zelensky said the future status of eastern Ukraine lands currently occupied by Russia was unresolved, but peace proposals were “almost ready.”
Postwar security guarantees, should a deal be reached, are agreed to between the United States and Ukraine, although they would require each country’s ratification, he said.
Zelenskyy said two days of trilateral meetings involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia are expected to begin Friday in the United Arab Emirates.
“The Russians have to be ready for compromise because, you know, everyone has to be ready, not just Ukraine, and that’s important for us,” he said.
Trump and Zelensky have had a tense relationship, and the U.S. president has sometimes chastised Putin as well.
Zelenskyy said he thanked Trump for providing U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems that can help stop Russian missiles that repeatedly strike Ukraine’s power grid, causing hardship for civilians deprived of light, heat and running water. He said he asked Trump for more.
After Trump reduced his support for Ukraine, other NATO countries began buying weapons from the United States to donate to Kyiv in a special financial deal.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
