Why Ukraine could now have fresh hope of vital US support

The official G7 agenda started on Tuesday morning with a two-hour session on Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived here in Evian to speak to the G7 leaders – he was warmly welcomed by the host, Emmanuel Macron, and later held a bilateral with Sir Keir Starmer.

This analysis originally featured in our live blog.

But Zelenskyy needs to convince Donald Trump to support his country and his cause and use the influence of the White House to end the war with Russia.

Working in his favour is the fact that Ukraine is now starting to show signs of having the upper hand on the battlefield, and Russia's economy is in tatters.

Trump likes to back winners, and if he can be convinced that Ukraine is now starting to slowly win back territory, then he might be persuaded to fully back Ukraine over Russia.

Trump, fresh from doing his deal with Iran, has shown signs that he will re-engage with the war in Ukraine.

European leaders will be pleased to hear that, but they now want to ensure that Europe is part of any future negotiations with Russia.

The EU is the biggest financial donor to Ukraine now, covering two-thirds of its budget for the next two years and providing millions of pounds of military equipment and support.

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After Donald Trump repeatedly berated European leaders for not doing enough and for relying too much on American support, there is a feeling within the EU that now they have stepped up and that should earn them a place around the negotiating table.

However, the US president is a leader who likes to do things on his own terms and might need persuading to bring the Europeans into negotiations rather than trying to get all the glory of finding peace for himself.

(c) Sky News 2026: Why Ukraine could now have fresh hope of vital US support