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President Zelenskiy said that three years after the war, Ukraine continues to fight to defend its territory and has more allies than ever. He warned that Russia will not give up peace.
"We must achieve peace through strength, wisdom and unity - through our cooperation with you. Peace cannot be declared simply in one hour, it cannot be declared in one day, today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately, this is the reality."
Mr. Zelenskiy spoke before world leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"The war in Ukraine remains the most central and important crisis for the future of Europe. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying harder than ever to win the war on the ground. His goal remains the capitulation of Ukraine. And we know what can happen next because it has happened before. It is not just the fate of Ukraine that is at stake, it is the fate of Europe," said Ms von der Leyen.
EU foreign ministers approved a new round of sanctions against Russia on Monday. The measures target Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of ships it uses to evade restrictions on oil and gas shipments or to transport stolen grain from Ukraine. Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 83 officials and "entities."
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country will provide 1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year.
But this anniversary comes amid a shift in Washington's stance toward Kiev and the war in general. President Donald Trump called President Zelenskyy a "dictator" last week and accused him of starting the war even though Russia attacked Ukraine.
"I'm very disappointed. I hear that they (Ukraine) are unhappy that they don't have a seat at the table. They had the opportunity to have a seat for three years and for a long time to come. This could have been resolved very easily, even a mediocre negotiator could have done such a thing, could have resolved this years ago, without losing so much territory, without losing so many lives and without losing so many cities," he said.
Kiev fears that a quick agreement would be disadvantageous to it.
The resumption of contacts with Moscow and a meeting of senior US and Russian officials in Riyadh last week, without Ukrainian or European officials present, following a Trump-Putin phone call, have alarmed Kiev and its European partners. Mr. Zelenskiy expressed this concern again on Monday.
"First, the war is being waged against Ukraine, and therefore Ukraine must be at the negotiating table together with Europe. Russia's strategic objective is precisely against Europe, the European way of life, so the security and fate of Europe cannot be decided without Europe. Ukraine, Europe together with the United States, must be at the negotiating table facing Russia, so that the need for peace does not mean a normalization of Moscow's position," he said.
Several European leaders emphasized that Europe's fate is tied to that of the United States.
"It's not just about Ukraine, it's also about Europe, it's also about the United States, it's about international law. And ultimately, this is about world order. So if we now allow Russia to do what it wants, in other words deny the existence of a Ukrainian state, then it's not just Ukraine that loses, but the West loses too, the United States loses too."
Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskiy said he was ready to step down from his post if it meant peace in Ukraine and added that he would trade his departure from office for Ukraine's entry into NATO.
But US officials have signaled that Ukraine's hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it may be unrealistic for it to regain the land occupied by the Russian military, which makes up 1/5 of the country's territory. /VOA
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