After essentially being kicked out of the White House on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to London where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately offered a warm embrace: 'we stand with you' - was the message after the major public clash with President Trump and Vice President Vance in the Oval Office.
"You have full backing from the United Kingdom and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take," Starmer, who was also just at the White House on Thursday, said in a presser with Zelensky on Saturday.
"And I hope you’ve heard some of that cheering in the street, that is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with unwavering determination," the UK leader added.
Zelensky is also meeting with the UK's King Charles on Sunday. CNN and other are presenting this moment as a consolation of sorts after the "nightmare Trump meeting".
Currently, European leaders are meeting at Lancaster house, hosted by the UK's Starmer, reportedly to work with Ukraine on a peace plan.
The leaders in attendance include NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Starmer said Sunday before the meeting that Kiev and Europe will work together toward a plan to "stop the fighting" with Russia before presenting it to the White House.
The British PM told BBC: "We have agreed that the UK, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting. Then we will discuss that plan with the US."
The fact that these European leaders are now talking about urgently drawing up an official new peace plan is without doubt due to the pressure of the Trump presidency as well as the controversial mineral deal and Zelensky's apparent rejection of it.
While these leaders may still not actually be interested in peace, given many of them have urgently called for the West to keep transferring weapons to Ukraine's military, they are at least making a show of it as an alternative approach to Washington.
This older interview clip of Zelensky is making the rounds again after Friday's fireworks at the White House...
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has bluntly acknowledged that the Western allies appear weaker and more divided than ever at this point, per FT:
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned that fractures in the traditional transatlantic alliance will “leave us all weaker”, while suggesting that the UK and Italy can together “play an important role in bridge-building”.
“We are all committed to the goal that we all want to achieve — which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Meloni told Starmer at the start of a bilateral meeting before the summit. “It is very very important that we avoid the risk that the west divides.”
The Kremlin will meanwhile likely bypass engaging these European leaders altogether, in preference of continuing to deal with Trump on the cause of achieving ceasefire in Ukraine.
Russian leadership also understands that Europe will ultimately fall in line based on whatever Washington finally achieves on the peace negotiations front, as has been the historic pattern, and given the US shoulders the bulk of defense funds and hardware for NATO. The US has continued to pursue bilateral talks with Moscow, yet without European or Ukrainian representatives in the room.