Volodymyr Zelensky thanked EU leaders for standing by Ukraine’s side, as the bloc kicked off crisis talks on confronting US President Donald Trump’s pivot away from Kyiv and its transatlantic partners.
Summit brings all 27 EU leaders together for the first time since last week’s explosive meeting between Trump and Zelensky. Since then, Washington has suspended the military aid and intelligence sharing that has helped Kyiv fight off Russia’s invasion.
“We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words,” the Ukrainian president told reporters as the talks kicked off, standing alongside EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.
“This is a watershed moment for Europe,” said von der Leyen, who has laid out a plan aimed at mobilising 800 billion euros to “re-arm Europe” faced with the threat from Russia.
“Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself,” the commission chief told reporters.
“It’s also a watershed moment for Ukraine,” she added. “We have to put Ukraine in a position to protect itself and to push for lasting and just peace.”
Leaders are expected to give a green light to the commission’s defence plans, based largely on freeing states to spend much more — something the bloc’s two economic powerhouses look set to do.
In a sombre national address on the summit’s eve, France’s President Emmanuel Macron called for a defence spending surge to confront a “new era” and said he would discuss extending France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners.
“Who can believe that this Russia of today will stop at Ukraine?” Macron asked. “I want to believe that the United States will stay by our side, but we have to be prepared for that not to be the case.”
Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, who conferred with EU chiefs in Brussels ahead of the talks, has declared himself ready for “the worst-case scenario” and embraced radical reforms to pump up German defence spending.
‘Coalition of the willing’
Zelensky’s visit to Brussels comes as he scrambles to reengage Washington after the White House blow-up — declaring himself ready to work towards a peace deal under Trump’s “strong leadership” and to finalise an accord on US access to Ukrainian mineral resources.
But Germany’s outgoing leader Olaf Scholz reiterated European warnings against any “dictated peace” in Ukraine. A future settlement must guarantee Kyiv’s “sovereignty and independence”, he said.
