Key Points
- EU leaders meet to discuss bolstering security measures for Ukraine.
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his nation needed $8.6 billion for artillery shells.
- The European bloc is aiming to strengthen its defence following a shift in US policy.
European Union (EU) leaders said on Thursday they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to approve a package of at least €5 billion ($8.6 billion) for artillery purchases.
"We need funds for artillery shells and would really appreciate Europe's support with at least €5 billion as soon as possible," Zelenskyy told the EU leaders meeting in Brussels via video link.
Arriving at the summit in Brussels, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had also called on leaders to match words of support for Ukraine with deeds, as United States President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his efforts to end the war, including through a rapprochement with Russia.
"The stronger they are on the battlefield, the stronger they are behind the negotiation table," Kallas said of the Ukrainians.
In the statement all leaders approved at the meeting — apart from Hungary's Viktor Orbán — they pledged to "continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support".
They also said member states should "urgently step up efforts to address Ukraine's pressing military and defence needs".
But there was no concrete answer to Kallas' proposal to focus on what Zelenskyy says he needs most urgently, such as two million artillery shells at a cost of €5 billion.
Kallas had already scaled back a proposal to pledge up to €40 billion ($69 billion) in military aid to Ukraine for the whole year, with each country contributing according to its economic size, after resistance from some countries, particularly in southern Europe.
The leaders of Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire. Source: AAP / Sean Kilpatrick/AP
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda said: "We have to rearm ourselves because otherwise we will be the next victims of Russian aggression."
He also reiterated his support for Ukraine, saying: "Ukraine needs our military assistance, Ukraine needs long-range missiles, and we are ready to provide it. We should increase the pressure on Russia."
But some southern European capitals have been more reticent, reflecting a division between those geographically closer to Russia and have given more aid to Ukraine and those further away that have given less as a share of their economies.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he did not like the term "rearm", which the European Commission has used extensively in its push for more defence spending.
"It is important to take into account that the challenges that we face in the southern neighbourhood are a bit different to the ones that eastern flank faces."
EU leaders will also debate the Commission's defence proposals, which include a call for European countries to pool resources on joint military projects and buy more European arms.
US-led peace talks to continue next week
Ukrainian experts will be present at talks involving the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Zelenskyy has said, as a diplomatic push to end the war intensifies.
Speaking at a news conference in Oslo on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the structure of the meetings would see US officials meeting with Ukrainian experts and then holding separate talks with Russian representatives.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to a partial ceasefire brokered by Washington. That list could include not only energy, but also rail and port infrastructure, he said.
Yuri Ushakov, a top foreign policy aide to President Vladimir Putin, confirmed that bilateral talks between Russian and US officials would be taking place in Riyadh, adding they would focus on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
