EU chief says vowed 'unflinching' Ukraine support in Macron, Starmer talks

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she held talks with the British and French leaders this weekend and all had pledged "unflinching" support for Ukraine ahead of the third anniversary of its war with Russia.

"We discussed our unflinching support to Ukraine, financially and militarily," Von der Leyen said of her telephone discussions with France's President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The EU chief said in a post on the X platform she had "good exchanges" with two key European leaders.

"We shared updates on our contacts with US partners and discussed plans for the defense and security of our continent," she said amid growing US-Europe tensions on the Ukraine conflict and funding for NATO.

Macron and Starmer are both due in Washington this week for talks with US President Donald Trump.

According to Downing Street, Starmer and von der Leyen agreed on the importance of offering guarantees for a just and durable peace in Ukraine when they spoke Saturday.

European states are concerned that, in his desire to end the conflict, Trump will offer Moscow favorable conditions without providing Kyiv with security guarantees while keeping European powers away from negotiations.

To mark the third anniversary of the invasion, Starmer said in an opinion piece for The Sun on Sunday newspaper that "it is in UK and US interests to stand by Ukraine with security guarantee."