European arms companies' shares plummet after the Trump-Zelensky meeting

BarcelonaShares of major European defense companies began trading sharply lower on Monday, the last week of 2025, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of "rsignificant results" in Sunday's meeting with US President Donald TrumpThe respective negotiating teams will hold another meeting next week, and the US president will meet with Ukrainian and European leaders in January. Progress toward a potential resolution of the conflict in Ukraine weighed on Monday's market opening, affecting stocks such as Germany's Rheinmetall (-3.37%), Italy's Leonardo (-4.7%), France's Thales (-1.57%), and Britain's BAE Systems (-). Spain's Indra fell as much as 1.89%. Despite the declines recorded in the first minutes of trading on Monday, European defense sector stocks are on track for record gains in 2025, and, as the year draws to a close, Rheinmetall's shares have risen by around 150%. while Indra rises 170%Leonardo saw an increase of over 80% and Thales 60%, an annual rise driven by the new European rearmament policy.

"We have discussed all aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results," stated Zelensky, who expressed his gratitude to both Trump and the chief negotiators from Washington and Kyiv via his Twitter account. The Ukrainian president asserted that the plan includes US security guarantees for his country for 15 years, although he had requested them for half a century.

It is still unclear how these commitments would materialize, but the Ukrainian leader has long been demanding security guarantees "similar to Article 5" from Europe and the United States, referring to the NATO charter, according to which an attack against one member state should be considered an attack against all. Zelensky stated that both leaders agreed that "security guarantees are key to achieving lasting peace." "Ukraine is ready for peace," he emphasized to X, adding that "some documents have already been finalized or are being finalized."

However, after meeting for more than three hours, both leaders left without announcing or finalizing any significant agreement. Trump and Zelensky did agree that it is a complex process that will take more time. "I think we are getting much closer," the US president said.

Trump warned of the possibility that an agreement might not be reached. "We'll know in a few weeks," he said, while acknowledging that there are still a couple of "very thorny" issues as the talks have progressed. These are the management of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and, above all, the concession of Ukrainian territory.

"We've made a lot of progress, but we've really only achieved this in the last month. This isn't a one-day agreement; it's a very complex matter," the US president emphasized, hinting at the joint press conference that he might travel to Kyiv if it helps save lives and finalize the agreement.

For its part, the Kremlin confirmed that Trump and Putin spoke on the phone after Zelensky's visit to Trump's private residence. Moscow maintains that both sides reject the option of a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and are committed to a permanent solution to the conflict. "A temporary ceasefire under the pretext of referendum preparations or other excuses only leads to a prolongation of the conflict and a resumption of fighting," said Kremlin advisor Yuri Uyxakov. Uyxakov himself warned that for a definitive cessation of hostilities, "a responsible and courageous political decision on the part of Kyiv is required above all (...) regarding Donbas." Putin, therefore, does not want a ceasefire until he has secured territorial concessions from Ukraine, beyond the current front, to annex the entire Donbas region.