Zelenskyy lashes out at Europe ahead of first trilateral peace talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lashed out at Europe during his Davos speech ahead of a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US and Russia on Friday.

In a speech that at times seemed reminiscent of Donald Trump's attitude towards Europe, the Ukrainian president warned the continent about a never-ending "groundhog day", and accused European countries of a lack of action.

"Just last year here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words 'Europe needs to know how to defend itself'. A year has passed and nothing has changed," he said.

"We are still in a situation where I must say the same words," he lamented.

In his speech, Zelenskyy also called for a "united armed forces" for Europe while emphasising how reliant Europe is on US military support.

Zelenskyy's speech came after a "positive" meeting with Trump, with the leader saying a peace plan was "nearly ready, and that really matters".

The remarks over progress on peace talks come ahead of what Zelenskyy calls the "first trilateral meeting" between Ukraine, the US and Russia in the UAE.

The Ukrainian leader appeared to suggest the trilateral meeting was an idea from Washington that was sprung upon him at the last moment.

"I hope that the Emirates know about it. Yes. Sometimes we have such surprises from our American side," Zelenskyy said.

Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were photographed meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday night ahead of the trilateral meeting.

Zelenskyy left Davos saying his country had clinched agreements on a new air defence package during meetings at the World Economic Forum.

He also claimed that Ukraine had managed to stop the size of the Russian army from increasing, saying that Russia was suffering losses of 45,000 troops a month.

(c) Sky News 2026: Zelenskyy lashes out at Europe ahead of first trilateral peace talks