Europe to send diplomat team to Ukraine talks as leaders push for a voice

Europe will send a team of diplomats from across the continent to Ukraine peace talks, the European Union announced Friday. European Council President Antonio Costa said the continent would be represented by the EU and five members of the "coalition of the willing" that backs Ukraine: the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. He spoke at the end of a summit of EU leaders in Dublin dominated by how Europe can play a role to bolster Ukraine, and protect its own security, in US-backed negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv on ending the almost five-year war. European leaders have been concerned that a US-backed process will leave them sidelined and Kyiv vulnerable as Moscow and Washington decide the fate of a conflict that has roiled the continent. Ukraine is eager for support from its European allies. It's reluctant to leave the talks solely in the hands of a US administration that has often seemed to lean toward Moscow's views. Russia does not want European countries involved in direct