KYIV, Feb 24 – Ukraine on Monday marked the bleakest anniversary yet of its war against the Russia invasion, with the country’s forces under severe pressure on the battlefield and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration apparently embracing the Kremlin in a reversal of American policy.

The three-year milestone drew more than a dozen Western leaders to Kyiv for commemorative events in a conspicuous show of support. They warned of the war’s wider implications for global security and vowed to keep providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as uncertainty deepens over the U.S. commitment to help. Washington did not send any senior official to the occasion.

Hours after the anniversary observances, Trump said he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war, The Associated Press reported. Separately, Putin suggested that European countries could be part of a settlement, but he also said that he had not discussed resolving the conflict in detail with Trump.

The fourth year of fighting could be pivotal as Trump uses his return to office to press for peace.

“The autocrats around the world are watching very carefully whether there’s any impunity if you violate international borders or invade your neighbor, or if there is true deterrence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in Kyiv.

Some observers say Russian success in Ukraine could embolden China’s ambitions. Just as Moscow claims that Ukraine is rightfully Russian territory, China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own. North Korea and Iran have also aided Russia’s war effort.

In a cascade of unwelcome developments for Kyiv, Trump has in recent days called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, suggested Ukraine is to blame for the war and ended Putin’s three-year diplomatic isolation by the United States. U.S. officials have also indicated to Ukraine that its hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably won’t get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20% of the country.

The shift in Washington’s policy has set off alarm bells in Europe, where governments fear being sidelined by the U.S. in efforts to secure a peace deal. They are mulling how they might pick up the slack of any cut in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The changes have strained transatlantic relations.

European Council President Antonio Costa announced Sunday that he would convene an emergency summit of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels on March 6, with Ukraine at the top of the agenda.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are both visiting Washington this week.

EU foreign ministers on Monday approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia. The measures target Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships that it uses to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU said 74 vessels were added to its shadow fleet list.

Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 83 officials and “entities” — usually government agencies, banks or companies.

Britain, too, imposed new sanctions aimed at 107 businesses and individuals in what it says is its biggest package targeting Russia’s war machine since the early days of the conflict in 2022. The measures are designed to disrupt the Kremlin’s military supply chains.

Starmer said Ukrainian voices “must be at the heart of the drive for peace” and that Trump’s intervention had “changed the global conversation” and “created an opportunity.”

“Russia does not hold all the cards in this war,” he said.

Coming off a victory in Sunday’s German elections, conservative leader Friedrich Merz — also a staunch backer of Ukraine — posted on X: “More than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength.”

“For a fair peace, the country that is under attack must be part of peace negotiations,” he wrote.

On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest single drone attack of the war, pounding Ukraine with 267 drones.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, insisted that the U.S. cannot seal any peace deal without Ukraine or Europe being involved.

“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin. But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels, where she led a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Kallas is scheduled to travel to Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (ap/ez)