The European Union is Going to Provide Ukraine with "Security Commitments" at the EU Leaders' Summit

The leaders of the European Union are preparing to join forces to agree on long-term security guarantees and to help Ukraine finance its efforts to defend itself against Russia on the battlefield. 

This was reported by the Financial Times.

According to FT sources, the leaders will pledge to continue to fund military support through the European Peace Facility, which is funded by the bloc's countries.

Also, the EU countries plan to expand training programmes for the Ukrainian military, but only if such a step is agreed upon by all member states.

According to one diplomat who participated in the discussion, the idea and wording of the security guarantees were proposed by France after President Emmanuel Macron called for "tangible and credible security guarantees" for Ukraine at the GLOBSEC conference in May. It is now about sending a "very clear political signal" to Kyiv and Moscow and ensuring greater Euro-Atlantic involvement in the security system to protect Ukraine.

"The European Union and its Member States stand ready to contribute, together with partners, to future security commitments for Ukraine that will help Ukraine defend itself in the long term, deter acts of aggression and resist attempts to destabilise it," the latest draft of the EU summit conclusions - which has been leaked to the media - reads.

On the eve of the European leaders' summit, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands said that the upcoming NATO summit should send a clear signal that Ukraine will be accepted into the Alliance.

In turn, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he was "absolutely confident that members will find common ground on how to address Ukraine's membership in the Alliance". However, at the moment, the partners are focused on providing Ukraine with all the necessary means to defeat Russia.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that it was important for the partners to announce clear and understandable steps that Ukraine should take to join the bloc and provide security guarantees that would ensure Kyiv's long-term financial and military support.