European leaders came together on Friday to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a barrage of demeaning and infantilizing remarks directed at him in the Oval Office by US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Kaja Kallas, head of foreign policy for the European Union, stated: "It became evident today that the free world requires a new leader. As Europeans, it is our responsibility to accept this challenge. In a potentially pivotal moment in the shaky postwar Western alliance between the United States and Europe, the Europeans resisted Trump's browbeating of Zelenskyy and Washington's growing support for Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin.“There is an aggressor, which is Russia and a people who have suffered aggression, which is Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, hitting back at Trump’s attempts to treat the two sides evenly. “You have to respect those who have been fighting since the beginning because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, for their children, and for the security of Europe.”

Macron also noted that the U.S. was not the only country to support Kyiv, stressing that it was also backed by European countries, Canada and Japan.

Germany’s almost-certain next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, struck a similar tone addressing a tweet directly to “Dear Volodymyr” in which he vowed to stand with Ukraine “in good and in testing times.”

Over the past weeks, Europe has been steeling itself for a major rift with Washington over Trump’s hectoring treatment of Ukraine and its leader.

While European leaders have been pushing for a comprehensive deal in which the U.S. would offer post-war security guarantees, Trump has resisted such suggestions and has concentrated his efforts on boasting he can get Ukraine — rather than Russia — to repay America for aid through a deal on critical raw materials.

Leaving little doubt of his preference for Putin over Zelenskyy, Trump has slammed the Ukrainian leader as a “dictator,” while hailing Russia’s leader as trustworthy. Trump has also adopted the Kremlin’s positions that Kyiv should not join NATO and should give up invaded land.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sent a message to Zelenskyy insisting “Dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” while the office of Sweden’s prime minister said: “You are not only fighting for your freedom but also for all of Europe’s.”

The Czech Republic, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania all sent similar messages of support.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President@ZelenskyyUa.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stressed his country stood behind Ukraine, saying “their fight is our fight,” while Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp underlined support for Ukraine would supply “whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.”

Italy’s hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, called on Europeans not to allow deep divisions to open up with Washington and said Rome would, in the hours ahead, call for an EU-U.S. summit to get diplomacy back on track.

“What is needed is an immediate summit between the United States, European states, and allies to talk frankly about how we intend to deal with the great challenges of today, starting with Ukraine, which together we have defended in recent years,” she said.

Also US Democratic lawmakers rushed to defend Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian leader was publicly berated by Donald Trump in a disastrous Oval Office meeting.The US president accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with world war three” while his vice-president, JD Vance, called the Ukrainian leader “disrespectful”, before cutting short talks aimed at kicking off the process of ending Kyiv’s three-year war with Russia.