Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky thanks EU leaders for support after Moscow blasts ‘confrontational’ Macron
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked European leaders for their support after arriving in Brussels for an emergency EU summit on defence.
“During all this period, and last week, you stayed with us. We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words — we feel it,” Mr Zelensky told reporters as EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa stood either side.
EU support for Ukraine “signals to increase our production, and signals to a new program to increase European security”, he added.
Ms von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, described it as a “watershed moment” for European security and called for “peace through strength”.
A source in the Turkish government has said Ankara is ready to send troops to Ukraine if necessary. Turkey has the second largest army in Nato, after the US.
Meanwhile, Russia has blasted an “extremely confrontational” speech by French president Emmanuel Macron in which he said Paris would consider using its nuclear deterrent to protect other countries.
“It can hardly be perceived as a speech by a head of state who is thinking about peace,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
