Where Ukraine stood on 5 March 2025 after a week of upheaval
A look back at the diplomatic sequence that left Kyiv relying on European partners as Washington paused military aid.
What did Ukraine's position look like on 5 March 2025, after a week that moved from a planned minerals deal to a suspension of American military aid? The sequence of events from 27 February to 3 March explains why European capitals moved quickly.
A meeting that ended early
On 27 February 2025, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., for talks that included peace negotiations over the Russo-Ukrainian War. Starmer also presented a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to visit London later in the year.
The next day, 28 February, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump and U.S. vice president JD Vance at the White House. The talks ended early after a heated exchange. Trump rejected any discussion of specific security guarantees for Ukraine and was interested solely in the Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement. That agreement, which sets terms for joint investment in Ukraine's natural resources, including rare-earth elements, oil and gas, as well as reconstruction, was not signed. As later described, the meeting had been expected to conclude with its signing, and it ended abruptly without a clear resolution.
London responds
On 1 March, Zelenskyy met Starmer in London, where they signed off on a British loan of £2.26 billion to buy military supplies for Ukraine. The following day, 2 March, Starmer announced after a meeting of European leaders in London that a "coalition of the willing" was working on a Ukraine peace plan to present to Trump. The gathering was called to draft a peace plan to take to the United States.
Washington pauses aid
On 3 March, Trump paused all U.S. military aid to Ukraine with immediate effect. By 5 March, then, Kyiv had gone through four developments in quick succession: a collapsed minerals signing, a rejection of discussion on security guarantees, a new British financing arrangement, and a halt to American military assistance.
What the sequence showed
The week set two tracks side by side. In Washington, the priority stated in the White House talks was the minerals agreement, not security guarantees. In London, European leaders were assembling a peace plan and a British loan was earmarked for military supplies. The coalition of the willing, which was later described as led by the United Kingdom and France and eventually numbering 34 countries, would go on to pledge readiness to join a peacekeeping force in Ukraine once a ceasefire or peace deal was signed. That was a later development; on 5 March it was still a plan being drawn up for presentation to Washington.
For Ukraine's government, the days before 5 March therefore combined a diplomatic setback with concrete European support, while the question of how to bring the American side back to the negotiating table remained open.
