Ukraine’s Zelensky says his repeated warnings to Europe feel like ‘groundhog day’.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday criticized his European allies for what he characterized as the continent’s slow, fragmented and inadequate response to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago and its continued international aggression.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe, which he said has left Ukraine at the mercy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Europe seems lost,” Zelensky said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global power. He contrasted Europe’s response to Washington’s bold moves in Venezuela and Iran.

The former comedian mentioned the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the main character must relive the same day over and over again.

“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. We are still in a situation where I have to say the same words again,” Zelensky said.

He said Ukrainians also seem trapped in that reality in war, “repeating the same thing for weeks, months and of course, years. And yet we live the way we are now. This is our life.”

European countries, which see their future defenses at stake in the war on its eastern flank, have offered financial, military and humanitarian aid to Kiev, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are cooperating. Ukraine has also been frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc’s sometimes slow responses.

A meeting with Trump

His speech came after he met for about an hour behind closed doors in Davos with US President Donald Trump, who described the talks as “very good”. Zelensky called them “productive and meaningful.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Davos, Trump said his meeting with Zelensky went well and that the Ukrainian president told him he wanted to make a deal to end the war.

“I had a good meeting, but I’ve had a lot of good meetings with President Zelensky and it didn’t happen,” he said.

Trump noted that both Putin and Zelensky want to reach an agreement and that “everyone is making concessions” to try to end the war.

He said the talking points remained the same during the talks held in the last six or seven months, noting that “boundaries” were the main issue. “The main hold-up is the same things that have been holding it back for the past year,” he said.

Trump said he and Zelensky talked about how Ukrainians were living through cold winters without heat.

“It’s really hard for the people of Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that it was “amazing” how the residents have persevered through the winter in the face of relentless Russian aggression. “This is no way to live,” he said.

Since the start of hostilities in 2014 and a full-scale offensive in 2022, Russia’s massive military has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine. But gaining ground along a nearly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the war’s consequences.

Ukraine is short of money and, having significantly increased its own arms production, still needs Western weapons. It is also short-handed on the front line. Its defense minister last week reported about 200,000 desertions and about 2 million Ukrainians draft-dodging.

Zelensky is trying to focus the world’s attention on Ukraine despite other conflicts.

Zelensky cited inaction on key decisions

He chided Europe for being slow to act on major decisions, spending little on defense, failing to stop Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers breaking international sanctions, and failing to use its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine.

Europe, he said, “still feels like geography, history, tradition, not a real political power, not a great power.”

“Some Europeans are really strong, it’s true, but many say we should stand strong, and they always want someone else to tell them they need to be strong, preferably until the next election,” he said.

The Trump administration has been pushing for a peace deal, with its emissaries shuttling between Kiev and Moscow in a flurry of talks that some worry could force Ukraine into an unfavorable deal.

A meeting in Moscow

According to the Kremlin, Trump’s special envoy Steve Wittkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow late Thursday and held talks with Putin for more than 3 hours.

One major issue remains to be resolved in the talks, Wittkoff said in Davos, without saying what it is. Zelensky said the future status of land in eastern Ukraine, currently occupied by Russia, was not resolved, but peace proposals were “almost ready.”

Post-war security guarantees, if a deal is reached, have been agreed between the U.S. and Ukraine, though they would require approval by each country, he said.

Zelensky said that the tripartite meeting of the United States, Ukraine and Russia will begin on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Russians have to be ready for a deal because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not just Ukraine, and that’s important for us,” he said.

Trump and Zelensky have a close relationship, and the US president has sometimes reprimanded Putin.

Zelensky said he thanked Trump for providing the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system that could help stop Russian missiles that repeatedly hit Ukraine’s power grid, denying citizens electricity, heating and running water. He said he asked Trump for many of them.

After Trump cut support for Ukraine, other NATO countries began buying weapons from the U.S. to donate to Kiev under special economic arrangements.

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Hrabchuk reports from Kyiv, Ukraine. Josh Bock in Air Force One, Meg Kinard in Houston and Ali Swenson in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine