European leaders have warned against forcibly redrawing Ukraine's borders, three days before Russia's Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump hold a summit on Ukraine in Alaska.
In a statement, European leaders said that "the people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their own future."
The statement added that the principles of "territorial integrity" must be respected and "international borders must not be changed by force."
The declaration was signed by 26 of the 27 leaders. Among the signatories was absent Hungary's leader, Viktor Orban, who has maintained friendly relations with Russia and has repeatedly tried to block European Union support for Ukraine.
The statement underscored the nervousness Europeans feel about Moscow's actions in Ukraine, which many countries - especially those bordering Russia or those in which the memory of the Soviet occupation still lingers - believe could pose a direct threat in the near future.
In recent years, Sweden and Finland have joined NATO, the Baltic states have reinstated military conscription, and Poland has allocated billions of dollars to build a barrier along its border with Russia.
European countries have a long history of redrawing borders from bloody wars and are extremely concerned about the possibility that the US will allow this to happen in Ukraine. Legal recognition of Russian sovereignty over forcibly occupied territories is unacceptable to the EU.
