The Ukrainian head of state was tethered from a rolling train to speak directly to EU heads of state and government at their summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Five heavy demands were made: long-range robots, fighter jets, more sanctions, support for the Ukraine peace plan and negotiations on EU membership.
– Speed up the delivery of weapons, otherwise the war drags on, Zelensky is said to have said, according to a diplomatic source in Brussels to the Politico Europe news site.
At the same time, the first four combat aircraft from Slovakia have arrived in Ukraine. The country’s prime minister, Eduard Heger, believes that the decisions of recent days by Slovakia and Poland to send planes will be followed by more.
— This is to protect the citizens of Ukraine. This is not an escalation – the only ones escalating are Russia, says Heger in a short press appearance in the middle of the summit.
In their joint statement on Ukraine, the leaders of the EU countries welcome, among other things, the settlement from Monday to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine within a year and jointly purchase ammunition – both for Ukraine and for their own stockpiles.