European leaders rallied to defend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance subjected him to a tirade of withering and infantilizing abuse in the Oval Office. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said: “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.” In what may prove to be a significant turning point in the tottering post-war Western alliance between Europe and the US, the Europeans pushed back against Washington’s increasing alignment with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Trump’s browbeating of Zelenskyy.