President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday evening asked his Western allies to provide Kiev with more arms support, saying that “Ukraine that wins” the war with Russia will be able to become a member of the European Union, and stressing that without the ‘Ukraine, the bloc can no longer unite. , like before.
At the end of the 4 p.m. summit on Friday, after Zelenskyyy left, EU leaders pledged to do all they can to support Ukraine, but did not offer a specific timetable for the start of talks. of EU membership, as Zelenskyyy had hoped.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders agreed to “relentlessly support Ukraine over the long term to win the war”.
EU leaders have been promised next month to consider increasing production of ammunition for Ukraine’s military needs as it faces new challenges from Russia.
European Council President Charles Michel said the bloc must “cooperate with the industrial sector and do everything so that we can speed up the production of ammunition, and also so that they can fulfill the necessary obligations”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the new €10 billion sanctions package being discussed would aim to deprive Russia of the military supplies it needs and cannot get anywhere. go elsewhere.
“The sanctions package targets assets that are almost impossible to replace in any other way,” she said.
While in Brussels, Zelenskyyy asked Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger to hand over Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Last year, the Slovak army stopped flying the MiG-29. “We will work on this request,” Heger replied.
Macron did not rule out sending French fighter jets to Ukraine, but said Zelenskyy had not asked for them to be sent and the planes were not among Ukraine’s most urgent needs.
“Military planes cannot be delivered in the next few weeks under any circumstances,” Macron said, citing in particular the need for preparation. He said France could consider “scaling up” the supply of other types of weapons, such as artillery or missile systems.
The pledges came after an emotional day at EU headquarters when Zelenskyy made a two-day trip outside Ukraine to try to convince the West of the need to hand over new weapons to repel a Russian invasion that lasted almost a year. Meanwhile, over the past day, the Kremlin has launched a new offensive in eastern Ukraine.
MEPs and leaders from 27 EU countries applauded Zelenskyyy, who also visited London and Paris and stressed in his speech that the fight against Russia is essentially a fight for the freedom of all people. ‘Europe.
“The Ukraine that wins will become a member of the European Union,” Zelenskyy said, basing his message on the common destiny that awaits Ukraine and the bloc as a whole in the face of Russia. “Europe will always be and will remain Europe as long as we care about the European way of life.”
Negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, according to Zelenskyyy, should begin as early as this year. This is an ambitious request, given the enormous task ahead of Kiev and Brussels. According to him, such a decision will help motivate Ukrainian soldiers to defend the country.
“Of course we need it this year,” he said, then looked at European Council chief Charles Michel and quipped: “When I say this year, I mean this year. two, zero, two, three [2023]”.
However, Ursula von der Leyen said that “there are no strict deadlines”. In practice, it often takes decades for states to become members of the EU.
Ahead of Zelenskyyy’s speech, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the allies should quickly consider “as a next step, providing Ukraine [ракетных] long-range systems” and fighters. According to her, the response to the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine “should be proportional to the threat, and the threat is existential”. Metsola promised Zelenskyyy that Europe “will be with you as long as it takes”.
Military analysts say Putin is hoping for dwindling European support for Ukraine.
Russian forces “have regained the initiative in Ukraine and launched another major offensive” in the eastern part of the Lugansk region, much of which is occupied by Russia, according to the latest policy brief from the Institute for study of war. “Russian troops gradually launch an offensive, but its success is not … predetermined.”
Zelenskyyy took advantage of the rostrum of the European Parliament, hoping to repeat Wednesday’s speech to the British legislature when he thanked the nation for its unconditional support for the Ukrainian people.
The European Union and its member states have already provided around 50 billion euros ($53.6 billion) in aid to Kiev, providing military equipment and imposing nine sanctions packages against the Kremlin.
Fighting in Ukraine intensified on Thursday, with Kiev’s military intelligence service saying Russian troops had launched an offensive in the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions in a bid to establish full control over the entire Donbass. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops there since 2014.
“There is an escalation, and the main goal is to capture Donbass by the end of March,” Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
The frontline has widened considerably from the day before and heavy fighting is taking place in the region as Russian troops approach key Ukrainian-held towns, said Pavel Kirilenko, head of the administration. of the Donetsk region. According to him, as a result of the Russian shelling, a kindergarten, a hospital, a cultural center, a factory and residential buildings were damaged.
Russian forces have also intensified their attacks in the neighboring Luhansk region, launching a “broad offensive”, said Sergey Gaidai, head of the region’s administration.
In the Kharkiv region, 23 towns and villages were bombed. In the border town of Volchansk, a dozen apartment buildings were damaged as a result of bombardments.
