European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday called on EU leaders to pledge 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) for artillery shells for Ukraine to strengthen its hand in peace talks, following divergences over how to bolster Kyiv and the EU’s own military capabilities.
Kallas, while arriving at an EU summit in Brussels, urged leaders to match words of support for Kyiv with deeds, as US President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his efforts to end the war, including through a rapprochement with Russia.
Kallas has reportedly scaled back a proposal to pledge up to 40 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year, with each country contributing according to its economic size, after resistance from some countries, particularly in southern Europe.
Speaking to newsmen, Kallas said she was now focusing on what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was to address the summit by video link – says he needs most urgently, such as 2 million artillery shells at a cost of 5 billion euros.
“We should at least start to have a really concrete step – not only words, but also in deeds that we are helping Ukraine right now. Because the stronger they are on the battlefield, the stronger they are behind the negotiation table,” Kallas said.
Reiterated his support to Kyiv on Thursday, Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda
saud Ukraine needs their military assistance as well as long-range missiles, stressing that they were ready to provide it.
“We have to rearm ourselves because otherwise we will be the next victims of Russian aggression,” he added.
On his part, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he did not like the term rearm, which the European Commission has used extensively in its push for more defence spending.
“It is important to take into account that the challenges that we face in the southern neighbourhood are a bit different to the ones that eastern flank face,” he said.