The European Union has entered into long-term security commitments with Ukraine. For the EU, the President of the European Council Michel and the President of the Commission von der Leyen signed. Ukrainian President Zelensky then signed bilateral agreements with Lithuania and Estonia. “Now we have to prepare for a second peace summit, it is very important, and I will discuss it with the leaders.” Zelensky said this while arriving at the European Council in Brussels. “We have to take the next steps, which is a detailed plan and put it on the table and we have to do it in the next few months because we don’t have much time, there are dead and injured on the ground,” he added. “We don’t want the conflict to last years, Moscow instead aims to prolong it. But we want open negotiations, not secret ones.
The United States, Israel and Ukraine are in talks to supply Kiev with up to eight Patriot air defense systems, the Financial Times reported, citing sources who said the deal being worked on signals a shift in relations between Israel and Moscow. If the deal comes to fruition, Ukraine’s capabilities would increase significantly, given that Kiev currently has about four Patriot systems. Israel said in April it would begin retiring eight 30-year-old Patriot batteries and replace them with more advanced systems. But the batteries have not yet been decommissioned.
“In recent days, Ukraine has started negotiations on EU accession. Today I am in Brussels to attend a meeting of the European Council and to thank all European leaders for their unity and for affirming the irreversibility of our European path. I will meet with the leaders of the EU and its member states and hold bilateral talks. We will sign three security agreements, including one with the entire EU. For the first time, this agreement will enshrine the commitment of all 27 member states to provide Ukraine with broad support, regardless of any internal institutional changes. Every step we take brings us closer to our historic goal of peace and prosperity in our common European home,” Zelensky previously wrote on X.
Zelensky will also be received by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance in the Belgian capital.
Zelensky: ‘Belarus too will one day be in the EU’
“I thank you for opening accession negotiations, Ukraine is ready to take all the steps of enlargement,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing the 27 from the hall of the European Council. “It is a choice that sits on the right side of history, as it is for Moldova, the Balkans and I am sure also for Georgia. And Belarus should also become part of a united Europe in the future,” he added.
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