BRUSSELS

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Poland’s Prime Minister in Lviv, on Dec. 17, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels to discuss “next steps” on Russia‘s war as Donald Trump prepares to take office in the United States.

The gathering due in the evening was set to bring together German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish leader Donald Tusk, Italian premier Giorgia Meloni and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and could also include French President Emmanuel Macron.

British foreign minister David Lammy is also expected to attend, as are EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.

The huddle comes just over a month before Trump moves into the White House having pledged to bring a swift end to a conflict that NATO says has left over one million dead and wounded since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

European leaders — keen not to be left on the sidelines — are scrambling to come up with their own plans as fears swirl that Trump could pull U.S. support for Kiev and force it to make painful concessions to Moscow.

Discussions have begun between some capitals over the potential deployment of European troops to Ukraine to secure any eventual ceasefire.

But while this was raised at a recent meeting between Macron and Tusk, diplomats say it remains too early to come up with concrete proposals.

“Officially that is not on the agenda, but since there will be a lot of important people in the same room, it cannot entirely be ruled out,” a NATO diplomat said.

Addressing Italy’s parliament on Tuesday, Meloni said the meeting in Brussels would reinforce European efforts to assure a “just and lasting peace”.

“It is also an important opportunity to discuss the future of the conflict, maintaining close coordination on the next steps to be taken,” Meloni said.

Zelensky says he believes the war could end next year, and has called for allies to help secure a peace deal that Moscow cannot violate.

He said the leaders would discuss “how to urgently strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield, politically and geopolitically”.

NATO said that discussions would focus on “ongoing support for Ukraine, in particular air defense” as Russian bombardments have hammered Ukraine’s power grid.

  Zelensky seeks air defenses 

Rutte has insisted Kiev’s allies should focus on ramping up arms supplies — and urged them not to debate possible peace conditions in public as it risks playing into Russia’s hands.

Western backers are seeking to shore up Ukraine’s forces as Kiev’s fatigued troops are losing ground across the frontline and Moscow has deployed North Koreans to the battlefield.

“The aim is to make Ukraine as strong as possible for possible negotiations,” a German government source said.

Zelensky on Tuesday said Ukraine “needs 12-15 more air defense systems to fully protect our country from Russian missile strikes”.

The NATO diplomat said the meeting “will be basically about Zelensky asking for more military aid.”

As Trump’s return to power approaches, the Ukrainian leader has appeared to soften his stance on any potential peace push.

He has said that if Ukraine is given firm security guarantees by NATO and enough weaponry it could agree to a ceasefire along current lines and look to regain the rest of its territory through diplomatic means.

But NATO members have rebuffed Kiev’s calls for an invite to join their alliance right away, sparking speculation that sending peacekeepers could prove an alternative.

Russia’s chemical weapons chief killed

The head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division was killed Tuesday in a brazen Moscow attack claimed by Kiev, the most senior military figure assassinated in Russia yet as the Kremlin’s campaign in Ukraine drags on.

Igor Kirillov was killed along with an assistant when an explosive device attached to a scooter went off outside an apartment building in southeastern Moscow, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.

Kirillov, 54, was the head of the Russian army’s chemical, biological and radiological weapons unit and was recently sanctioned by Britain over the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakkharova accused Ukraine’s allies of approving “war crimes” by remaining silent on the killing or expressing support for such attacks.

“All those who welcome terrorist attacks or deliberately hush them up are accomplices,” she said on social media, accusing the West of increasing “approval for war crimes by fighters for the Kiev regime.”

Kirillov, who had been in his role since 2017, is the most senior Russian military official to be killed.

Kiev had a day earlier charged Kirillov in absentia on allegations of committing “war crimes” against Ukraine.

The SBU on Monday said it had documented more than 4,800 cases of Russia using chemical munitions since the start of the conflict in February 2022.

On Tuesday a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was “not going to mourn” Kirillov’s death, saying he had “imposed suffering and death on the Ukrainian people.”

“I can tell you that the United States was not aware of it in advance and was not involved,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.