President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Europe of being “lost” and trying to convince US President Donald Trump to help them instead of coming together to defend his country.
“Instead of taking the lead in defending freedoms around the world, especially when the U.S. focus shifts elsewhere, Europe seems to be lost in trying to convince the U.S. president to change,” he said in a strongly worded speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after nearly four years of war with Russia.
“President Trump says he loves himself and loves Europe, but he won’t listen to European opinions like this,” Zelenskiy said. He had met privately with President Trump just before his speech.
Zelenskiy added: “I feel that Europe is still about geography, history and tradition, not a real political force or a great power.”
“It’s true that some Europeans are really strong, but many people say, ‘We have to be strong,’ and they want someone to tell them how long they have to be strong, preferably until the next election.”
President Zelensky also revealed that a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States would be held in the UAE on Friday and Saturday, adding that the Russian side “must be ready for compromise” to end the war.
“Nothing has changed.”
At Davos, a week that has focused on the U.S. threat to annex Greenland, tariffs on European countries and a new “peace commission” in Gaza, Zelenskiy began his speech by saying European inaction had made his country feel like it was living through “Groundhog Day.”
President Zelenskiy said: “Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: ‘Europe needs to know how to protect itself.’ A year has passed and nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where we have to say the same words.”
“Together, we are truly invincible. Europe can and must become a global force, not a laggard.”
A bruise is visible on the back of US President Donald Trump’s left hand during the signing ceremony of the Peace Commission at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2026.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The background to many politicians’ speeches at the rally was President Trump’s policy on Greenland. President Zelensky criticized North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries for sending too few soldiers to the Arctic island amid threats from President Trump.
“If we send 30 or 40 soldiers to Greenland, what is it for? What message does that send? What is the message to President Putin? Is it a message to China? And more importantly, what message does it send to Denmark?
“Either declare that bases in Europe will protect the region from Russia and China, or risk not being taken seriously, because 30 or 40 soldiers can’t protect anything.”
Zelenskiy suggested that other pressing issues had been put aside while European leaders were “waiting for American calm” on the Greenland issue.
“There has been a lot of talk about the protests in Iran, but the protests have been bloody. The world is not doing enough to support the Iranian people.”
