EU Leaders To Pledge Continued Military Support To Ukraine

European Union leaders will restate their determination to continue to provide “timely, predictable and sustainable military support” to Ukraine at a summit, according to draft conclusions of the meeting.

“The European Council also reiterates the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of ammunition and missiles,” the draft text, also says.

Meanwhile, the draft summit conclusions leave open whether the leaders will also pledge to put another 5 billion euros for Ukraine aid into a fund called the European Peace Facility, which has been used to bankroll donations of weapons to Kyiv.

However, EU members have been wrangling for months over the future of the fund’s role in military aid to Ukraine, with Germany suggesting the focus should now be on bilateral aid from individual EU countries.

The idea of pledging a further 5 billion euros is included in the draft text in square brackets indicating it is still a matter of discussion.

The main topic of the summit in Brussels is an effort to reach an agreement on a financial aid package for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros over four years, which was blocked by Hungary at a previous summit in December.

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere