Polish PM Tusk says Europe should support Ukraine more as Trump shifts position on Russia

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said European leaders showed an unusually unified position on Ukraine at the EU summit, including countries that have previously been less supportive of Kyiv or, in his words, shown “signs of weakness” toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Everyone was aware that, with this shift in President Trump’s position on Ukraine and Russia, Europe should support Ukraine even more,” Tusk said. He added that the issue was not simply solidarity with Ukraine, saying many governments understood that “if Ukraine falls, we will all have very, very serious problems.”

Tusk said leaders expected Russia to increase escalation and provocations and exchanged reports about incidents in their own countries. He pointed in particular to acts of sabotage and provocations in the Baltic states, which he described as worrying.

The Polish prime minister also said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had described increasingly severe energy conditions in Ukraine. “Winter has practically already arrived in Ukraine,” Tusk said, explaining that he was referring not to the weather but to widespread electricity shortages and problems with gas that leave temperatures cold at night.

Ukraine has faced renewed Russian attacks on energy infrastructure ahead of winter, with widespread power disruptions reported in several regions. EU leaders meeting in Brussels reaffirmed support for Ukraine and discussed the operational needs of its critical infrastructure as winter approaches.