G7 allies push Trump to refocus on Ukraine as summit opens

Allied leaders opened the G7 in Evian-les-Bains with a blunt diplomatic : keep Ukraine from slipping behind Iran and the Middle East in Donald Trump’s list of priorities. Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other G7 leaders met in a morning working session that lasted about 75 minutes, a compressed conversation that reflected how quickly one crisis after another has competed for attention.

France shaped the summit to project unity and avoid a direct clash with Trump, who arrived after touting a preliminary deal to end the Iran war and said he would now seek to end the fighting in Ukraine and Lebanon. He told reporters Iran would soon be “back in the rearview mirror,” a signal that European allies hoped would free him to focus again on Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

That pressure mattered because European officials want Washington to keep Moscow under strain at a moment when the United States has reduced some forms of aid. France and other European partners remain the largest backers of Ukraine’s military and financial needs, but they still want American leverage behind sanctions, weapons and eventual negotiations. The summit also gave allies a chance to test whether Trump’s interest in Ukraine would hold once the Middle East crisis faded.

The financing picture underscored why that support matters. The European Commission says the EU’s Ukraine Facility can provide up to €50 billion from 2024 through 2027, and more than €40 billion has already been mobilized. European Parliament research says EU institutions adopted a separate €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan for 2026 and 2027 in April 2026, after earlier delays. That effort built on what European Parliament research described as Team Europe, the United Kingdom and Norway nearly balancing a full withdrawal of U.S. support in 2025.

Security support was equally central. Ukraine has been pressing partners for more Patriot interceptors and other air-defense systems as Russian missile and drone attacks intensify. Russia kept up attacks on Ukrainian cities on the eve of the summit, sharpening the case for more protective capabilities now rather than later.

Sanctions enforcement also stayed high on the agenda. The United Kingdom has treated Russia’s shadow fleet as a core target, and a July 2025 package hit 137 entities tied to Russia’s energy and oil sectors, including links to shadow-fleet oil transport. In Evian, allies were trying to keep that pressure intact while the war in Ukraine fought for space against newer crises, a balance that could shape the next phase of the conflict if U.S. focus turns elsewhere.