Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy listed a litany of complaints and criticism of Europe that he said has left Ukraine at the mercy of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid ongoing The US pushed for a peace settlement.

“Europe seems lost,” Zelenskyy said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global force. He contrasted Europe’s response to Washington’s bold moves in Venezuela and Iran.

The former comic actor talked about the movie “Groundhog Day,” where the main character had to repeat the same day over and over again.

“Last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe must know how to protect itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I have to say the same words again,” said Zelenskyy.

He said that Ukrainians, too, seem to be caught up in that reality of war, “repeating the same thing for weeks, months and, of course, for years. But that’s exactly how we live now. This is our life.”

A meeting with Trump

His speech came after he met behind closed doors for about an hour Davos with US President Donald Trump, who described the talks as “very good.” Zelenskyy called them “productive and meaningful.”

European countries, seeing their own future defense at risk in the war on its eastern flank, have provided financial, military and humanitarian support for Kyiv, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are helping. Ukraine is also frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc’s sometimes slow responses.

Russia’s larger army has managed to seize about 20% of Ukraine since the fighting began in 2014 and its full invasion in 2022. But the battlefield is expanding along a nearly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line at a cost for Moscow, and Russia’s economy is feel the consequences of war and international sanctions.

Ukraine is cash-strapped and, despite significantly improving its own arms production, still needs Western weapons. It is also short-handed on the front line. Its defense minister last week reported about 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging of about 2 million Ukrainians.

Zelenskyy is also trying to keep the world’s attention focused on Ukraine despite other conflicts.

Zelenskyy cited inaction on important decisions

He criticized Europe for being slow to act on important decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop Russia. “shadow fleet” of oil tankers which violates international sanctions, and refuses to use its freezing properties in Europe to finance Ukraine, among other things.

Europe, he said, “still feels like a geography, history, tradition, not a real political force, not a great power.”

“Some Europeans are very strong, it is true, but many say that we must stand firm, and they always want others to tell them how long they must stand firm, preferably until the next election,” he said.

The Trump administration has been pushing for a peace settlement, with its envoys closing in between Kyiv and Moscow in a flurry of negotiations that some worry could force Ukraine into a bad deal.

A meeting in Moscow

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday and sat down for further talks with Putin, the Kremlin said.

One major issue remains to be resolved in the negotiations, Witkoff said in Davos, without saying what it was. Zelenskyy said the future status of the land in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia has not been resolved but that peace proposals are “almost ready.”

Security guarantees after the war, if an agreement is reached, have been agreed between the US and Ukraine, although they need ratification by each country, he said.

Zelenskyy said two days of trilateral meetings involving the US, Ukraine and Russia were to begin on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Russians should be ready for compromises because, you know, everyone should be ready, not only in Ukraine, and this is important for us,” he said.

Trump and Zelenskyy have a heavy relationshipand the American president has Putin was sometimes criticized as well.

Zelenskyy said he thanked Trump for providing US-made Patriot air defense systems that help stop Russian missiles that have repeatedly hit Ukraine’s power grid, causing civilian hardship deprived of light, heating and running water. He said he asked Trump for more of them.

After Trump cut support for Ukraine, other NATO countries began buying weapons from the US to donate to Kyiv under a special financial arrangement.

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Hrabchuk reports from Kyiv, Ukraine.