The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is at the center of a scandal related to a secret conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and the leaders of several European countries. What is known about this chat is contained in the material “Moscow Evening”.
Who is in the secret chat
According to media reports, in addition to Zelensky and von der Leyen, the secret chat also includes:
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz;
- French President Emmanuel Macron;
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni;
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer;
- President of Finland Alexander Stubb.
Trump’s “unruly” actions were discussed.
Media reports about the secret conversation began to appear as early as January 2026. Politico then reported, citing its source, that leaders of European countries began regularly conducting informal correspondence in 2025 regarding moments in which US President Donald Trump did “something brutal and potentially devastating.” They often do this in the same chat, a source told the publication.
– When events begin to develop rapidly, it becomes difficult to ensure coordination. “This group chat is really effective,” a source told Politico.
According to him, this informal communication channel was called the “Washington Group.” It was named in honor of the visit of Zelensky and European leaders to the White House in August 2025. The newspaper reported that this group’s approach is to “calm down and respond” to Trump’s actions, so as not to succumb to his “provocative words.”
The coalition of the willing initially dealt with Ukraine issues. But it created very close contacts between some of the key people in the European – almost. “VM”) Capitals. They built trust and the ability to collaborate. “They know each other by name and it’s easy for them to call and text,” another source told Politico.
Von der Leyen is under investigation
After reports of a secret conversation emerged, Dutch investigative organization Follow the Money requested information from the European Commission about informal contacts von der Leyen had with European leaders. However, the European Commission refused to disclose the information, arguing that publishing the correspondence could “harm the EU’s international relations with third countries.”
In June 2026, it became known that European Ombudsman Teresa Ungenio had launched an investigation into von der Leyen after the European Commission refused to disclose the contents of the correspondence in this chat. Meanwhile, the investigation is not related to the content of the chat itself, but rather to a possible violation of transparency rules by the European Commission due to the denial of access to the correspondence.
The investigation is expected to last several months, and a meeting between the Ombudsman and European Commission representatives is scheduled to take place before mid-July.
What threatens von der Leyen because of the scandal?
The scandal and investigation would end von der Leyen’s career. This opinion was expressed by political scientist Yuri Svetov. He pointed out that the political rivals of the President of the European Commission want to remove her from the leadership of the European Union, which is confirmed by this scandal.
In addition, reports began to appear in the media that von der Leyen would not be elected to a third term in the 2029 elections.
– Until this moment (elections – almost. “VM”) Three more years. Why do you seem to be talking about this now? But it seems they want to end her career. Therefore, I think the pressure on it will continue. That is, they want to deprive her of any opportunity and hope that she will continue on her political path.”
There is a growing trend in the European Union towards changes in leadership, and EU leaders realize that the Ukrainian conflict is coming to an end and that they are not going to win it. Therefore, they want to find an “extreme,” Svetov said in a conversation with News.ru.
Earlier, von der Leyen announced the creation of a “Ministry of Truth” in the European Union to combat “disinformation” from Russia, China and other countries. How this section will work is in the material “Moscow Evening”.