Zelenskyy calls for European army as EU leaders rally for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the creation of a European army, insisting Kyiv and its overseas backers must be listened to in peace talks with Russia. 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Ukrainian leader said that with the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House, Europe could no longer count on Washington to have its back.

Trump stunned allies and upended the status quo of U.S. support for Ukraine this week when he announced he would soon meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start truce talks.

Zelenskyy's rallying cry came a day after meeting U.S. Vice President JD Vance as Kyiv scrambles to ensure it is not sidelined in Washington's push to wrap up the three-year conflict. 

"Let's be honest - now we can't rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it," Zelenskyy said. 

"Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military and army. An army of Europe. And I really believe the time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created."

Zelenskyy is pushing for "security guarantees" from both the United States and Europe to ensure any peace deal does not allow Moscow just to restart the conflict.

The push for a joint continental force has been mooted for years without gaining traction and Zelenskyy's intervention seems unlikely to shift the balance. 

Is Europe still behind Ukraine?

The majority of European leaders continue though to back Ukraine, supporting Zelenskyy's call to action and wanting their continent to play a key role. 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pressed Europe to establish its own stances on Ukraine and security as the U.S. sows doubts about its commitment to Europe.

"Europe urgently needs its own plan of action concerning Ukraine and our security, or else other global players will decide about our future," Tusk said. "This plan must be prepared now. There's no time to lose."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Europe needs to make tough choices over the threats facing it.

"We need to prepare. We will have to face difficult days, make complicated decisions and even sacrifices which we weren't expecting until now to ensure this security," he said. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that to shore up defenses against Russia if peace is reached, Kyiv's backers "first of all" needed to build up Ukraine's armed forces. 

"There will be a responsibility in the post war times for Europe and for the United States and for the international partners and friends of Ukraine to make this happen," Scholz said. 

"All the sort of security guarantees we give should be designed from this basis."

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he believed Washington would continue to support Ukraine.

Asked about Zelenskyy's call for a European army, he would not go into specifics but said: "We are already supporting the Ukrainian army with our weapons. We are ready to do what we need to do, to support it before this ceasefire in Ukraine."

NATO boss Mark Rutte said that leaders in Europe were "now getting into the concrete planning phase" of possible security guarantees, but they needed to get their acts together over Ukraine.

"To my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up defense spending," he said in Munich.

U.S. officials have said Ukraine won't be left in the cold after three years of conflict, with Vance saying, after his sit-down with Zelenskyy in Germany, that Washington was looking for a "durable, lasting peace."

In a sign there is still some degree of international cooperation in the new Trump era, G7 foreign ministers - including the U.S. - agreed on Saturday with a statement pledging to continue working together to get a durable peace deal for Ukraine with robust security guarantees.

The G7, which includes France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, UK and the EU, said such guarantees would be meant to "ensure the war will not begin again".