This NATO summit was dominated by US President Trump and the increase in military spending. The war against Ukraine was only a marginal topic. Was the Ukrainian president nevertheless able to achieve anything for his country?

It was unclear beforehand whether a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would actually take place. Ultimately, the two spoke for about 50 minutes.

Zelenskyy later described the meeting as"substantial." He said he discussed with Trump how to achieve a ceasefire and genuine peace, as well as"protect our people."

Trump announces talks with Putin

Trump said at a press conference that the conversation with Zelensky was not about a ceasefire and announced that he would soon speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war against Ukraine.

In response to a question on this, Trump said he considered it possible that Putin might have territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine. He also said it was not yet certain whether the US would provide financial support to Ukraine for its defense. He was similarly vague about whether Kyiv would receive Patriot missiles.

Before Trump's re-election, the United States was Ukraine's main supporter in its defensive struggle against Russia. Under Trump, however, the United States has significantly reduced its support and moved closer to Russia.

Merz calls for tougher sanctions

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) also met with Trump on the sidelines of the summit. He told reporters that, in light of the situation in Ukraine, he had expressed to Trump"our urgent desire for the American side to also impose further sanctions against Russia."

There will be no military solution to this conflict, Merz said."We must increase the economic pressure on Moscow." The European Union will launch its 18th sanctions package."But that alone will not be enough. We also need greater participation from the United States of America in such sanctions."

However, US Secretary of State Rubio had previously made it clear that the United States would not impose further sanctions against Moscow for the time being."If we did what everyone here wants, which is to burden them with more sanctions, we would likely lose our ability to talk to them about a ceasefire," Rubio said.

The US government also fears that sanctions against Russia could harm its own economy.

No working session on Ukraine

The agenda alone shows that the war against Ukraine was only a marginal topic in The Hague. Unlike in previous years, there was no separate working session on the Russian war of aggression this time.

In the summit declaration, solidarity with Ukraine is limited to the vague sentence:"The Allies reaffirm their enduring national commitments to support Ukraine, whose security contributes to our security."

A small success for Zelensky

Last year, NATO pledged €40 billion in aid to Ukraine and promised to support it on its"irreversible path" to NATO membership. This latter statement, which is extremely important for Ukraine, has now been dropped without replacement.

Zelenskyy can count a small success in the fact that it was agreed in writing that NATO countries could count military support for his country toward their defense spending. This was already the case recently, but Ukraine feared that this could change due to Trump's policies.

Less attention to the war in Ukraine

Due to recent events and conflicts in the Middle East, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is increasingly being pushed into the background. However, the attacks are not abating. Yesterday alone, a Russian drone strike on a village in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy killed three people, including an eight-year-old child.

Previously, according to Ukrainian sources, nine people were killed in an attack on Kyiv. There was also an attack on the port city of Odessa, in which three people were killed and eight others injured.