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Ursula von der Leyen proposed the ‘ReArm Europe’ scheme, hailing a ‘watershed moment’
EU leaders have backed new defence spending plans aimed at freeing up billions of euros for security after the Trump administration signalled that Europe would have to fend for itself.
At an emergency summit in Brussels, all 27 EU leaders backed new defence spending plans to increase the continent’s security.
Budget restrictions will be loosened so that countries can increase military spending, after EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed an 800billion-euro (£651bn) “ReArm Europe” plan.
She said: “This is a watershed moment for Europe and Ukraine as part of our European family. It’s also a watershed moment for Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says his team will meet US officials in Saudi Arabia next week for talks about ending the war.
UK defence secretary John Healey is in Washington to meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.
Earlier, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK warned the US was destroying the rules-based world order by cozying up to the Putin regime in Russia.
“It’s not just the axis of evil and Russia” disrupting the global system but “the US is finally destroying this order”, Valerii Zaluzhnyi told a conference hosted by the Chatham House think tank.
Russian forces launched a new mass drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa late on Thursday, damaging energy infrastructure and triggering fires, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.
„On the outskirts of Odesa, three private homes are on fire and energy infrastructure has been damaged,“ Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Kiper said information on casualties was being clarified.
In an interview on The World With Yalda Hakim, Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin accused the UK, France and other European nations of not wanting to end the war in Ukraine.
„We are prepared to negotiate and to talk,“ he said. „We have our position. If we can strike a negotiated settlement… we need a very serious approach to that and a very serious agreement about all of that – and about security in Europe.“
„What we will need is a new Ukraine as a neutral, non-nuclear state,“ he said. „The territorial situation should be recognised. These territories have been included in our constitution and we will continue to push that all forces of the Ukrainian government will leave these territories.“
Asked if he thought the Americans would agree to give occupied Ukrainian land to Russia, he said: „I don’t think we have discussed it seriously. [From] what I have read, the Americans actually understand the reality.“
Volodymr Zelensky says his team will meet US officials in Saudi Arabia next week for talks on ending the war.
The Ukrainian president tweeted that he would meet the Saudi Crown Prince on Monday and that his team would stay on for talks with US partners.
“Ukraine is most interested in peace. As we told POTUS, Ukraine is working and will continue to work constructively for a swift and reliable peace,” he wrote.
He said he had a productive day in Brussels meeting EU leaders and that his priority could be to establish a ceasefire in the sky and at sea.
This would mean stopping missile, long-range drone and bomb strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure as well as halting all military operations in the Black Sea, he wrote.
The EU leaders have hailed the European Commission’s proposals to give them fiscal flexibility on defence spending, and to jointly borrow up to €150 billion (£125bn) to lend to EU governments to spend on their militaries.
In a joint statement agreed by all 27 member states, the leaders called on their governments to examine these proposals in detail urgently.
European Union leaders have backed new defence spending plans aimed at freeing up billions of euros for the continent’s security after the Trump administration signalled that Europe would have to fend for itself.
The 27 leaders signed off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so that willing EU countries can increase their military spending.
They also urged the European Commission to seek new ways “to facilitate significant defence spending at national level in all Member States”, a statement said.
The EU’s executive branch estimates that around 650 billion euros (£544bn) could be freed up in this way.
EU leaders have approved a statement in support of Ukraine without the backing of Hungary, an official has said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seen as Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe and has supported talks between US and Russia.
The document has not yet been officially published but in it the 27 leaders back plans to boost defence spending and to loosen rules to allow individual countries to invest in the bloc’s security.
A statement on the European Council’s website says: „The European Union will accelerate the mobilisation of the necessary instruments and financing in order to bolster the security of the European Union and the protection of our citizens.“
The defence secretary said he was “fixed” on the opportunity Donald Trump has created to secure peace in Ukraine ahead of a meeting with his US counterpart.
John Healey, who is in Washington to meet with Pete Hegseth, said: “I’m fixed on the historic opportunity the president has created to bring a lasting and secure peace to Ukraine.”
He added: “The President also has asked Europe to step up, and we are. The UK is ready to take on a leadership in that task. You saw that from Keir Starmer at the weekend, in the way that he is pulling the parties together, ensuring that we take Ukraine with us and that we work closely alongside the United States.
“And it’s the detail of those discussions which are rightly behind the scenes that the Defence Secretary and I will now pursue this afternoon.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Thursday he is in discussions with Ukraine for a peace agreement framework to end hostilities with Russia and that a meeting is planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.
„We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians,“ Witkoff told reporters at the White House. He said it would likely be in Riyadh or Jeddah.
Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had acrimonious talks at the White House on February 28 but since then the two sides have resumed work on a revenue-sharing minerals deal.
At his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he had received a letter from Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader said he was „ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.“
Referring to the Saudi Arabia meeting, Witkoff said, „I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.“
Speaking to reporters, John Healey said he came to America to „strengthen“ the defence „bond“ between the US and UK.
His US counterpart Pete Hegseth says the media is interested in „narratives“ around Ukraine and Russia but Donald Trump is interested in peace.
Asked about Donald Trump’s decision to halt military aid to Kyiv, Pete Hegseth says: „As the president has pointed out, it is a pause. Exactly what he said from the beginning. Pause – pending a true commitment to a path to peace.“
He adds Trump is „paying a very keen eye“ to what Kyiv is „saying and doing about committing to that peace process“.
„And we’re very encouraged by the signs we’re seeing,“ he adds.
The UK would would welcome engagement from any country that wishes to be part of the coalition of the willing, Downing Street has said.
Asked about reports that the Middle East could be involved in the efforts, a No 10 spokesman said: “We welcome engagement from any country that wishes to be part of the coalition of the willing.”
Turkey has reportedly indicated it could play a part in peacekeeping efforts.
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Ukraine-Russia latest: EU leaders agree defence plan as Zelensky set for peace talks – The Independent
