European Union leaders are pledging to continue to support Ukraine militarily despite Russia's push to stop Western arms deliveries to Kyiv in the ongoing cease-fire talks.
The bloc's leaders are gathering in Brussels on March 20-21 and are expected to adopt summit conclusions stating that "the European Union maintains its 'peace through strength' approach, which requires Ukraine to be in the strongest possible position, with its own robust military and defense capabilities as an essential component."
The text, seen by RFE/RL, also notes that the group "remains committed, in coordination with like-minded partners and allies, to providing further comprehensive support to Ukraine and its people, as it exercises its inherent right to self-defence against Russia’s war of aggression."
The Brussels meeting comes two days after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which a 30-day pause on targeting energy infrastructure was agreed.
Only hours after the call, however, the state-owned Ukrainian Railways confirmed Russian drones had targeted energy infrastructure connected to the rail system in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
EU boots on the ground
The EU text would normally need to be agreed unanimously by its 27 EU member states, but EU diplomats speaking under the condition of unanimity said Hungary -- which has long proposed a more conciliatory tone toward the Kremlin -- will ask to opt out, similar to what happened at an EU summit earlier this month.
EU nations have so far been excluded from the negotiations about the war that have been taking place in Saudi Arabia, but the document underlines that "the European Union and its Member States will contribute to the peace process and help secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, which is in the interest of both Ukraine and Europe as a whole."
However, there is no mention of a designated EU envoy for the talks. There has been speculation in Brussels that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and current Finnish President Alexander Stubb could be primed for such a role.
The text does not include any direct references to EU boots on the ground to oversee a potential peace deal, which is something French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly pushed for but which Moscow so far has dismissed.
Brussels does maintain two other positions that the Trump administration seems to have put on the negotiation table in a bid to secure Moscow's commitment to a peace deal: a loosening of sanctions against the Kremlin and accountability for war crimes.
The bloc recently prolonged its visa bans and asset freezes on 2,400 companies and individuals -- including Putin -- that it has imposed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started three years ago. The EU "remains ready to step up pressure on Russia, including through further sanctions and by strengthening the enforcement of existing measures," it noted.
Approximately 200 billion euros worth of Russian assets remain frozen, mainly in Belgium. The funds should remain immobilized "until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates it for the damage caused by this war."
The member states added that they are pushing for "full accountability for war crimes and the other most serious crimes committed in connection with Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."
This comes as Washington announced its intention to drop out of the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, a group formed by Western countries back in 2022 to gather evidence against those responsible for potential war crimes.
