(AFP) – President Volodyr Zelensky urged EU leaders on Thursday to step up weapon supplies to Ukraine and keep pressuring Russia, as top military brass gathered in London to thrash out plans to police any peace deal. Europe is scrambling to weigh in on the outcome as US President Donald Trump has forged ahead with Russia on efforts to end its war on Ukraine.
Speaking by video call to an EU summit, Zelensky said Russia had continued striking Ukraine’s energy system despite Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to a halt with Trump. “Yesterday evening, another Russian strike hit our energy infrastructure,” he said. “Despite Putin’s words about allegedly being ready to stop the attacks — nothing has changed.” Zelensky emphasized that the Kremlin leader must “stop making unnecessary demands that only prolong the war,” as he called on the EU to ramp up arms deliveries and keep sanctions in force.
Across the Channel from Brussels, around 30 military leaders from countries keen to help secure any lasting ceasefire in Ukraine were set to huddle near London. Zelensky and Putin both held talks with Trump this week and have indicated they are prepared to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. However, there has since been no let-up in strikes in the grinding three-year war, with both countries reporting a barrage of new drone strikes overnight, as questions remained about the exact details of any lasting peace deal.
Trump, who has unsettled European and NATO allies with his overtures to Putin and lukewarm commitment to European security, suggested on Wednesday night that the United States could take over and run Ukraine’s power plants. But on Thursday, Zelensky ruled that out. “We will not discuss it. We have 15 nuclear power units in operation today. This all belongs to the state,” he stated. Putin, for his part, has made the end of further Western military support for Ukraine a red line for Russia agreeing to a long-term truce.
In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to address the closed-door meeting of military leaders at the Permanent Joint Headquarters north of London. Speaking ahead of the talks, Starmer stressed that any agreement to end fighting in Ukraine would need to be “defended” to stop Russia from violating it. “If there’s a deal, it has to be defended, because there have been deals in the past that haven’t had security arrangements and Putin’s taken no notice of them,” he said.
Starmer has spearheaded efforts with French President Emmanuel Macron to form a so-called “coalition of the willing” to police any truce in Ukraine, and both leaders have expressed their willingness to put their own troops on the ground. Russia has stated it will not accept the presence of any NATO troops in Ukraine, but Washington has not yet indicated whether it would be willing to provide a security backstop.
Despite Trump’s cooling on support for Ukraine, the United States is looking at helping Kyiv acquire additional air defense systems to counter Russia’s ballistic missiles. “This is extremely important,” said the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who is pushing member states to meet a Ukrainian request for two million shells worth five billion euros ($5.4 billion), though no headway was made on the plan at Thursday’s summit. According to a White House readout, Zelensky asked Trump for help on Wednesday in obtaining US-made “Patriot missile systems” to bolster its current stock provided by the United States, Germany, and Romania.
At the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioned whether Europe, where governments are looking at steep increases in domestic defense spending, was committed to ending the fighting. “For the most part, the signals from Brussels and European capitals concern plans to militarize Europe,” he remarked.
Talks on ending attacks on energy facilities involving Ukrainian, Russian, and US officials are due to resume on Monday in Saudi Arabia, according to separate statements from Zelensky and the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force reported on Thursday that Russia launched 171 drones over its territory overnight, resulting in two fatalities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions and several others wounded. A drone attack in the town of Kropyvnytsky, far from the front line, injured ten, including four children.
Russia stated its air defense units had shot down 132 Ukrainian drones in several regions across the country, with two individuals wounded in the southwestern city of Engels, and schools and a hospital reported damage.
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