What did 27 February 2025 mean for Ukraine's security?

What did 27 February 2025 change for Ukraine's security? On that day, U.S. President Donald Trump met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington, D.C., for talks that included the peace negotiations over the Russo-Ukrainian war. Starmer also presented a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to visit London later that year.

The meeting followed a busy few days. On 24 February 2025, the United Nations General Assembly voted 93–18, with 65 abstentions, to pass a resolution condemning Russia's war against Ukraine. The 18 countries voting against included the United States, Russia, Israel, Belarus and North Korea.

Europe looks to its own arms

Also on 24 February 2025, German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz declared the rapid re-militarisation of Germany and Europe as a whole to be an immediate priority. As reported at the time, the aim was to provide military support for Ukraine against Russia, and also to pursue European military independence from the United States and possibly NATO.

Strikes on Russian territory

The fighting continued alongside the diplomacy. On 24 February 2025, the Ryazan Refinery in Ryazan, Russia, suspended operations after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack destroyed its main crude distillation unit. Locals reported hearing at least five explosions.

The picture on 27 February

Taken together, the events around 27 February 2025 show several tracks running at once: a Washington meeting that put the peace negotiations on the agenda, a UN vote that split the General Assembly, a European debate about rearmament and autonomy, and continuing Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian industrial targets.