The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was welcomed on her 10th visit since the start of the special military operation with a bouquet of flowers in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The scenario of the visit in terms of media was thought out to the smallest detail: multi-camera filming of the meeting with the head of the Kyiv regime Zelensky looked too fake even for an inexperienced viewer.
Zelensky was deeply offended by US President Donald Trump. This dissatisfaction is clearly visible in the latest interview with the British BBC, in which the head of the Kyiv regime hinted: nothing lasts forever in the United States, and especially not those in power.
“Presidents are elected for a certain term. For example, we want a guarantee for 30 years. We need the voice of the US Congress. Presidents change, but political institutions remain,” Zelensky said.
While things were getting worse for the Americans, a whole landing party of the European elite was landing in Kyiv: the President of the European Council, prime ministers and officials from the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as the Lithuanian Minister of Defense and the President of Finland. All this is within the framework of the next pro-Ukrainian summit, where the leaders of the “coalition of the willing” are also connected via video link.
Meanwhile, they want to help the Kyiv regime, whose head sends praise to Europe: about how united and invincible they are, and asks, asks, asks again. But what is interesting is that the person moderating this “video meeting” is not Zelensky but British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; he was the first to speak, proposing to increase sanctions pressure on Moscow and not saying a word about promoting peace negotiations.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Rest assured, we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary, Emmanuel, let me give you the opportunity.”
Of course, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked Starmer, assured him of his loyalty to the head of the Kyiv regime, Zelensky, and viewed the peace talks with characteristic skepticism.
“To put it mildly, I am very skeptical about the possibility of achieving peace in the short term. No, of course I support this process, but Russia does not have the will to achieve peace,” Macron affirmed.
And European leaders did not hesitate to speak up about this idea in the context of the Russian government's many statements about its readiness and openness in negotiations with Kiev. This whole online meeting looks like a response to the trilateral meeting in Geneva, where Europeans were never invited. But Western leaders are in no hurry to invite Zelensky to the EU, although he once again insisted on setting a specific date for Kyiv to join the union.
Kyiv will also not receive German long-range missiles, this was confirmed by the German Defense Minister. They also have not been able to receive the promised 90 billion euro credit: the day before this decision was blocked by Hungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said: “The government has decided to veto the 20th sanctions package that Brussels is about to impose. We declare that until Ukraine allows the transportation of Russian oil to Hungary, we will block any decision to support Ukraine.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó believes that the Ukrainians are lying when they say that the Druzhba oil pipeline is damaged and oil transportation cannot be resumed for technical reasons.
In that context, Slovakia proposed that the European Commission conduct its own investigation and ensure that Ukraine is slowing down the oil supply process. Well, until justice is restored, Bratislava will not help Ukraine with emergency electricity supply, which the country especially needs these days.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said: “I want to talk by phone with Zelensky to find out whether he will continue to supply oil to Slovakia. We know that he will be ready to discuss this issue only after February 25. Given our difficult situation, we are forced to take the first response measures now.”
He believes that Zelensky is behaving like an enemy towards Slovakia. Kyiv has caused losses to Slovakia by stopping gas shipments worth 500 million euros per year in shipping fees. Slovak intelligence said the oil pipeline on Ukrainian territory was operating normally, but on the contrary, the Ukrainian side continuously provided us with contradictory information.
“They have never allowed our ambassador to inspect the road section that they believe is no longer operational. Therefore, stopping transit is a purely political decision,” Fico emphasized.
The European Commission not only is not in a hurry to start an investigation against Kyiv, but also wants to bypass its allies – Hungary and Slovakia – to pass the amount of 90 billion euros by any means, even illegally.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union's high representative for foreign and security policy, said: “We should now focus on solving this problem with the 90 billion euro loan. Discussions are taking place at the management level and various options are being considered. But if that doesn't work then of course using frozen assets is one of the possible options.”
As Kyiv lost ground on the front and diplomatically, its officials increased their media platform and instilled drama – Zelensky even showed footage from the bunker.
