European Union leaders have urged U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at an upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine and its European backers on Monday sought talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in an effort to protect their security interests ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week.

Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their own future, European Union member states said on Tuesday, seeking to weigh in ahead of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

Washington’s push to negotiate an end to the war has raised concerns the Trump administration will make concessions to Moscow that Kyiv finds unacceptable.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly denounced the idea of giving up territory to Russia in a video address on Saturday, vowing that Ukraine would not “gift their land to the occupier” and warning that any peace talks that didn’t involve Kyiv would “bring nothing.”

European Union leaders are appealing to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

EU leaders declared Tuesday that Ukraine has the right to choose its own destiny, just three days before US President Donald Trump meets Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Putin summit, EU leaders have stressed that Ukraine must be involved in peace efforts. Ukraine says it has made some territorial gains on its Russian border. DW has more.