EU Ramps Up Defence Talks as Zelenskyy Joins Leaders to Discuss Military Aid and Security
At an emergency European Union summit to strengthen defence, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined 27 EU leaders in Brussels to discuss increased European spending on defence and support for Ukraine.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda was one of the first European leaders to speak to journalists on his way to today's European Council meeting.
‘There is no need to explain ... how important this meeting is, because Ukraine is winning precious time for us every day, paying with its blood,’ the President of Lithuania said.
‘Europe is facing a clear and urgent danger. We must be able to defend ourselves and put Ukraine in a position of strength. Europe will increase defence spending, strengthen our defence industrial base and encourage the private sector to invest,’ Ursula von der Leyen said before the summit.
Latvian Prime Minister Eвіка Silinia hopes for ‘fast action and really clear decisions’ at today's summit so that the EU can focus on ‘expanding its defence industry’.
She stressed that Ukraine needs to secure peace ‘through strength, but without strength there will be no lasting peace’, as Russia will only use this opportunity to rearm in a few years.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen believes that ‘the most important thing now is to rearm Europe’ as soon as possible and to spend more on it.
As The Gaze previously reported, a summit on strengthening Ukraine and its military support was held in London on 2 March.