The EU backs a big defense package as Zelenskyy confirms talks with the U.S. next week
By
Teri Schultz
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes hands with European leaders next to European Council President António Costa (right) ahead of a meeting to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on Thursday.
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders backed a plan to spend more than $680 billion on defense on Thursday, marking a shift in the 27-country bloc’s efforts to protect the continent.
The plan includes about $160 billion in loans and loosens debt restrictions so EU member countries can increase military spending.
A joint statement said the defense of “all EU land, air and maritime borders” contributes to the “security of Europe as a whole, in particular as regards the EU’s eastern border, considering the threats posed by Russia and Belarus.”
Speaking late Thursday, European Council President António Costa said the member countries “decided to invest in priority areas” such as air defense, missiles, drone and anti-drone systems, artificial intelligence and more.
EU leaders approved the package in an emergency summit, which was called at a time when the United States is pressing Europe to step up its own protection and Russia continues to wage its war on Ukraine. The meeting also followed President Trump’s pause on military supplies for Ukraine and intelligence sharing with the country, after a fiery meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week.
“A stronger European defense also provides deterrence for Ukraine,” Costa said. “Ukraine’s security is at the core of Europe’s security.”
Zelenskyy — a non-EU leader who’s seeking membership in the bloc for his country — received a warm welcome from European leaders in Brussels and expressed gratitude for Europe’s steadfast support.
“Ukraine is ready to work 24/7 with our partners in the United States and Europe for peace,” Zelenskyy later wrote on social media. Next week, he said he plans to visit Saudi Arabia where his team will meet “with our American partners.”
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Thursday that officials are coordinating a meeting with Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia to nail down a framework for a peace deal and a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Greeting Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out the stakes in stark terms, saying, “Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself, as we have to put Ukraine in a position to protect itself and to push for a lasting and just peace.”
Former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told NPR that European leaders have realized “this might be the moment where we are on our own and we have to make sure that we are secure and that Ukraine does not lose this war and that Russia doesn’t win this war of aggression.”
She says it’s time to declare a “war economy” in Europe, as difficult as it may be to make those political decisions on the budgets of its members.
“These are difficult choices. And you have to explain them to people,” she said. “But it has to be done.”
As she arrived at the summit, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola suggested that lawmakers at least are ready for these decisions.
“It is about damn time,” Metsola said. “This is something that we have been asking for a long time, that the European Union, that Europe is capable of standing up on its own two feet.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he agreed on the need to ramp up European defense capabilities, but he opted out of a joint statement on support for Ukraine, which had the backing of the 26 other EU leaders.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom — which is not in the EU but is partnering with European leaders on peace plans for Ukraine — sent its defense secretary to Washington, D.C., to talk to the Trump administration about reinstating Ukraine aid and intelligence sharing.
Michele Kelemen contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. Lauren Frayer contributed from London.
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Morning Briefing: Europe Edition
Zelenskyy attends emergency Europe summit amid pressure from US, Russia
President Donald Trump is pressing Kyiv to enter peace negotiations with Moscow.
LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European leaders in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday as his nation seeks to weather continued attacks from Russia and growing political pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration in the U.S.
The Ukrainian president’s latest visit to Brussels comes at a difficult moment for his nation, the White House having announced an open-ended pause on all military aid and intelligence sharing in a bid to force Kyiv into negotiating a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s three-year-old invasion.
The freeze came after a tumultuous meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office last week, which descended into a shouting match and ended with the Ukrainian president’s team being asked to leave.
Zelenskyy this week released a statement calling the meeting “regrettable,” saying he is ready to engage in the U.S.-facilitated peace process and sign a controversial minerals sharing deal with the U.S. Teams from the U.S. and Ukraine “have resumed work” and “we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting,” he wrote on X.
Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, is set to go to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to meet with U.S. officials to discuss possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday, a source in Zelenskyy’s office told ABC News. Other Ukrainian officials and military representatives may also attend the meeting, the source said.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz are expected to attend the meeting, a Trump administration official confirmed to ABC News.
“I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire, as well,” Witkoff said outside the White House on Thursday.
Zelenskyy said during his evening address Thursday that he will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, and then his team will remain to “work with American partners.”
During a special meeting at the European Council building in the Belgian capital earlier on Thursday, Zelenskyy proposed the “necessary steps for peace” in his speech, according to a transcript released by his office.
Zelenskyy repeated the partial truce idea floated by French President Emmanuel Macron last week that would see Russia and Ukraine agree to a halt on long-range strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure and halt operations in the Black Sea.
“Everyone needs to make sure that Russia, as the sole source of this war, accepts the need to end it,” he said in the published remarks. “This can be proved by two forms of silence that are easy to establish and monitor, namely, no attacks on energy and other civilian infrastructure — truce for missiles, bombs and long-range drones, and the second is truce on the water, meaning no military operations in the Black Sea.”
Zelenskyy also thanked the leaders for their “determination to help us defend Ukraine” amid continued Russian strikes and called for a “significant part” of the defense funds under the proposed ReArm Europe Plan to be allocated to arms production in Ukraine.
“Let me emphasize once again that Ukrainians do really want peace, but not at the cost of giving up Ukraine,” he said in the published remarks. “Is Russia capable of giving up the war — this is the question that any negotiations must answer.”
Zelenskyy was welcomed to the European Council building by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.
“We discussed strengthening the defense capabilities of Ukraine and the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram of his meeting with von der Leyen and Costa.
“Air defense, weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, timely supplies, strengthening the Ukrainian defense industry, negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia and counteract the circumvention of sanctions — all this was among our topics today,” he wrote.
“Thank you for your leadership in discussing increasing Europe’s defense capabilities and strengthening Ukraine, for all your support on the path to a just and sustainable peace. It is very important that Ukrainians are not alone. We feel it and know it.”
“Europe faces a clear and present danger,” von der Leyen said in a post to X as Zelenskyy arrived. “We must be able to defend ourselves and put Ukraine in a position of strength.”
Zelenskyy spoke at a special meeting of the European Council and was expected to hold meetings with European leaders on defense matters.
European leaders have rallied to Zelenskyy’s defense in the face of U.S. pressure, while simultaneously warning that peace in Ukraine is not possible without American backing. The U.K. and France have said they will work with Kyiv to present a peace deal to Trump.
European allies have been rattled by the opening months of Trump’s second term, which have been characterized by efforts to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, alignment with Russian narratives about the war and criticism of Europe’s ability to ensure security on the continent.
Trump and his officials have been reluctant to offer any security guarantees to Kyiv as part of a peace deal with Russia — an element Zelenskyy and his European partners say is vital to the success of any accord.
On Thursday, Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg said a signed minerals deal would be a “de facto security guarantee” for Kyiv. “If the United States has direct economic interest in Ukraine, then the United States has a direct invested interest to protect its economic interest, as well,” he said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations.
As to the intelligence-sharing freeze, Kellogg said it was “a pause, not an end.” Trump’s envoy acknowledged it was “important” if a military loses intelligence support, adding, “We know that, but that’s one of the reasons why it was done.”
Asked whether the tactic was unfairly extractive of Ukraine, Kellogg replied, “Very candidly, they brought it on themselves,” referring to the dramatic Oval Office meeting last week.
European nations announced fresh tranches of assistance for Ukraine ahead of Zelenskyy’s arrival in Brussels.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced that his nation would provide $3.8 billion in funding in 2026, $700 million of which is earmarked for drone development.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said his nation would ensure a “significant increase” in aid for Ukraine, while Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced another $215 million in aid from Warsaw.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, meanwhile, said on France Inter that his nation was sharing intelligence resources with Ukraine following the U.S. freeze.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova framed Thursday’s meeting as an impediment to peace.
“The EU is torpedoing any preconditions for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine,” Zakharova said, as quoted by the state-run TASS news agency.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell, Guy Davies and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
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