Lavrov Says EU Making “Clumsy” Bid to Sway Trump on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday accused the European Union of trying to “aggressively escalate” the war in Ukraine and of launching “clumsy” efforts to persuade former U.S. President Donald Trump to harden his stance on the conflict. Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Lavrov said recent EU meetings with Trump produced no “constructive ideas” for resolving the 17-month-old war, and instead aimed to drag Washington into deeper confrontation with Russia. He offered no evidence for the claim and did not specify which European officials had approached Trump. The remarks come as the EU debates a new security package for Kyiv and ahead of a scheduled round of U.S.–EU talks on Ukraine policy. Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in the November 2026 election, has repeatedly criticized Western military aid to Ukraine and said he could negotiate an end to the war “within 24 hours.”