'Free world needs new leader,' says EU foreign policy rep as Europe struggles to distance itself from US

After the public spat between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas declared that the “free world needs a new leader”. The remarks from Kallas came as European leaders threw their support behind Ukraine following the confrontation.

On Friday, Europe and the world were left shocked, watching the confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy being played out on live television. In the furious exchange, Trump, alongside Vice President JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy, claiming that the Ukrainian leader was “not ready for peace”. Trump went on to accuse the Zelenskyy of “gambling with the World War Three”.

In a social media post, Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, wrote: “Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back against the aggressor." “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge," she added.

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Addressing Zelenskyy directly, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote: “Your dignity honours the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone.” “We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace," she furthered.

What’s at stake for Ukraine?

The only rational thing for Ukraine is to salvage its ties with the United States. This is because losing the Americans can turn out to be detrimental to the country, which is still facing the wrath of the Russian forces. Since the initial stages of the war, Zeleskyy has been pushing for Ukraine’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

However, with this incident, it is quite likely that Trump might shut the doors of NATO to Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine might end up struggling to ensure post-war security and will remain constantly in fear of a Russian invasion again.

Apart from this, since the mineral accord proposed by Trump is up in the air, Ukraine can struggle to pay back the American arms sales. Many believed that the deal could have paved the way for American arms sales paid for by Ukraine with its mineral revenues. However, the idea now seems utopic. The biggest issue at hand would be that the recent clash between Trump and Zelenskyy leaves a big question mark on America’s future aid to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian.

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Zelenskyy hopes to mend ties

During the interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked the US for its support in the war against Russia. “From the very beginning, during three years of full-scale innovation, you helped us to survive,” he said. When asked if he thought that the meeting was an ambush, the Ukrainian leader said he did not know.

“It was just a really tough situation,” he said. Appearing on the network, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “absolutely not true” that the Oval Office spat was pre-planned by Trump or Vance. Zelenskyy concluded the interview with an appeal to the American people. “We are thankful and sorry for this,” he said, adding that he was confident he could salvage his relationship with Trump.

Meanwhile, as he headed to Mar-a-Lago, Trump kept up the pressure on the Ukrainian leader. “All of a sudden he’s a big shot because he has the US on his side,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out, and if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty. Because without us, he doesn’t win," he said.