• Trump, European leaders & G7 vow support for Kyiv as war grinds into fifth year

MOSCOW/KYIV: Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement warning of the risk of a direct clash between nuclear powers and the grave consequences such a clash could have.

The ministry issued the statement after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) earlier on Tuesday accused Britain and France of preparing to secretly supply Ukraine with nuclear weapons parts and technology.

The SVR did not include documentary evidence to back up its assertion, which the French embassy in Moscow told the RBC news outlet was “an outright lie.” There was no immediate comment from Britain.

“We once again warn of the risks of a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers and, accordingly, of its potentially dire consequences,” the foreign ministry said in its own statement.

Ukraine not ‘abandoned’

European leaders vowed on Tuesday not to abandon Ukraine as Russia’s invasion entered a fifth year, though divisions among Kyiv’s partners overshadowed commemorations of the outbreak of the continent’s largest war in decades.

Tuesday’s anniversary of the start of the conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and ravaged swathes of Ukraine, comes a day after Hungary vetoed new EU sanctions against Russia and a 90 billion euro ($105 billion) loan critical to Ukraine’s survival.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, facing mounting US pressure to secure a peace deal, has repeatedly urged Kyiv’s allies to tighten sanctions on Moscow and send more weapons as Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no signs of ending his war.

‘Unwavering support’

Leaders of the G7 global powers, including US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday reaffirmed their “unwavering support for Ukraine” in a statement on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

It marks the first joint declaration by G7 leaders on Ukraine since Trump’s return to the White House a year ago, noted France, which holds the G7 presidency this year.

“We express our continued support for President Trump’s efforts to achieve these objectives by initiating a peace process and bringing the parties to direct discussions. Europe has a leading role to play in this process, joined by other partners,” the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germ­any, Italy, Canada and Japan said.

They also noted their support for the so-called Coalition of the Willing which has offered security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, adding “that only Ukraine and Russia, working together in good faith negotiations, can reach a peace agreement”.

Officials including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen travelled to Kyiv for the anniversary, but were not joined by heads of major Western governments. In Kyiv, von der Leyen said the EU would deliver on its 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine, “one way or the other”.

Russian forces are grinding forward with minor gains on the battlefield while attacking Ukrainian cities and towns with missiles and drones that have devastated the energy system.—Agencies

In televised comments, Putin accused Ukraine of trying to torpedo the peace process, which is stalled over the issues of territory and control of Europe’s largest nuclear plant.

Zelensky’s speech

Russia has insisted that Ukraine must cede the final 20pc of the industrialised and heavily fortified eastern region of Donetsk — while Kyiv is adamant it will not relinquish land that thousands have died to defend.

Zelensky said in an morning address that it would not betray the sacrifices made by its people just to bring an end to the conflict. “We cannot, we must not, give it away, forget it, betray it.” The mood on the streets of Kyiv on Tuesday was subdued, with a few dozen people gathering at a ceremony in the central square with soldiers carrying flags to remember the fallen in silence. War-weariness is many Ukrainians’ prevailing emotion.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2026