EU leaders promise support for Ukraine with conditions

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Key Points

EU leaders say they will continue to support Ukraine
Ukraine’s President is calling for a 5 billion euro artillery package
The European bloc is looking to bolster defence after a shift in US policy

European Union leaders said on Thursday that 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 five billion euros 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 Kyiv with deeds, as US 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 Orban — 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 on Kallas’ proposal to focus on what Zelenskyy says he needs most urgently, such as 2 million artillery shells at a cost of €5 billion

Kallas had already scaled back a proposal to pledge up to €40 billion ($68.85 billion AUD) 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.

Man in black shirt holds his hand to his face.

The leaders of Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire. Source: AAP / Sean Kilpatrick/AP

Bolstering the EU’s own defences also features on the summit agenda, reflecting deep fears that Moscow may attack an EU member in the coming years and doubts about the future of US protection for Europe via the NATO defence alliance.

“We have to rearm ourselves because otherwise we will be the next victims of Russian aggression,” Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said.

He also reiterated his support to Kyiv, 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 that have given more aid to Ukraine and those further away that have given less, as a share of their economies.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez 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 face,” he said.

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.