Europe could defeat Russia in any kind of conflict and will beat Vladimir Putin in his new arms race, Poland‘s Prime Minister reassured Volodymyr Zelensky as EU leaders gathered to meet the Ukrainian President for ‘watershed’ talks in Brussels.
‘Europe as a whole is truly capable of winning any military, financial, economic confrontation with Russia – we are simply stronger,’ Donald Tusk said ahead of the summit. ‘We just had to start believing in it. And today it seems to be happening.’
The Polish leader warned that Vladimir Putin had started ‘a new arms race’ that has left Europe with no choice but to prepare itself for war.
‘Europe must be ready for this race, and Russia will lose it like the Soviet Union 40 years ago,’ he wrote on X. ‘From today, Europe will arm itself more wisely and faster than Russia.’
His comments came as EU leaders hold a day of crisis talks in a bid to beef up their own security and shore up Ukraine’s defences, as the allies face the prospect of being cut adrift by US President Donald Trump.
Zelensky has expressed his gratitude to EU leaders for standing by Kyiv‘s side, with today’s summit less than a week after he attended an explosive meeting with Trump at the White House.
He received warm welcomes from most leaders at the Brussels gathering – a stark contrast with the verbal lashing the Ukrainian president got from Trump.
‘I want to thank all our European leaders,’ Zelensky said. ‘Strong support from the very beginning of the war. During all this period, and last week, you stayed with us.’
Since the Oval Office showdown, Washington has suspended the military aid and intelligence sharing that has helped Kyiv fight off Russia’s invasion – a decision which Ukrainian officials say will lead to thousands more deaths.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) meets France’s President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine
EU Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen talk to the press as they arrive for an European Council meeting in Brussels
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a cabinet meeting in Moscow, on March 5
A Ukrainian rescuer works to extinguish a fire in a building following a Russian attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region
Today’s emergency talks involving members of the 27-nation bloc come amid fears that the Trump administration is making huge concessions to Russia and freezing Ukraine out of negotiations to end the war.
The two months since Trump took office have seen the cornerstones of cooperation between the US and Europe completely upended – an alliance that had been the bedrock of Western security since World War II.
French President Emmanuel Macron last night said that he would confer with EU leaders about the possibility of using France‘s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats amid the shifting security situation.
The bloc will ‘take decisive steps forward,’ Macron said in an address to the French nation.
‘Member states will be able to increase their military spending’ and ‘massive joint funding will be provided to buy and produce some of the most innovative munitions, tanks, weapons and equipment in Europe,’ he said.
He added that ‘Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow.’
Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, and summit chairman Antonio Costa this morning discussed ways to fortify Europe’s defenses on a short deadline.
Merz has pushed plans to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the conference today: ‘Spend, spend, spend on defencse and deterrence. That’s the most important message.’
Their calls mark a sharp departure from decades of decline in military spending in Europe, where defence often came last in many budgetary considerations.
Zelensky is desperately trying to repair relations with Mr Trump after their extraordinary White House bust-up (pictured)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a plan to loosen budget rules so countries that are willing can spend much more on defence. Her proposal is underpinned by 150 billion euros ($162 billion) worth of loans to buy priority military equipment.
Most of the increased defense spending would have to come from national budgets at a time when many countries are already overburdened with debt.
Part of von der Leyen’s plan includes measures to ensure struggling member states won’t be punished for going too deep in the red if the spending is earmarked for defense.
‘Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself,’ she said.
France is struggling to reduce an excessive annual budget deficit of 5 per cent of GDP, after running up its total debt burden to 112 per cent of GDP with spending on relief for businesses and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A view from the damaged site after the Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih
A fire burns in a destroyed building following a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine March 5, 2025
Five other countries using the euro currency have debt levels over 100 per cent of GDP: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has more room to borrow, with a debt level of 62 per cent of GDP.
Part of any security plan is also aimed at protecting the increasingly beleaguered position of Ukraine.
Politicians in the country have put on a united front today after Washington officials reportedly held talks with opposition leaders on holding fresh elections.
Ukraine has banned elections under martial law, but Russia and President Trump have argued that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader and called for elections, despite the Ukrainian leader winning the 2019 elections with 73 per cent of the vote and having a significant approval rating.
US news outlet Politico reported Thursday that senior Trump allies had held secret discussions with Yulia Tymoshenko and senior members of Petro Poroshenko’s party on whether the country could hold quick presidential elections.
Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition European Solidarity party and founder of the Roshen confectionery maker, was elected president in 2014, losing a 2019 election to Zelensky.
In a statement Thursday, he said that his team ‘has always been and remains categorically against holding elections during the war’.
‘We have said, and continue to say, that elections can only take place after a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine,’ he said.
Poroshenko said his team works ‘publicly and transparently to maintain bipartisan support for Ukraine’.
In criticism of Zelensky’s administration, he said there has been a ‘lack of communication’ between the Ukrainian government and the American administration, ‘which poses a risk to the state’.
Last month Zelensky banned Poroshenko from leaving the country and barred his access to assets amid escalating infighting.
Tymoshenko, who served two terms as prime minister of Ukraine and leads the Fatherland party, said her team ‘is negotiating with all our allies who are able to help ensure a just peace as soon as possible’.
‘Until then, and I have said this more than once, holding any elections in Ukraine is out of the question,’ she wrote.
It comes after a Russian missile killed four people staying at a hotel in Zelensky’s hometown overnight.
He said that a humanitarian organization’s volunteers had moved into the hotel in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, just before the strike.
The volunteers included Ukrainian, American and British nationals, but it wasn’t clear whether those people were among the 31 injured.
Early this week, Trump ordered a pause to US military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia, bringing fresh urgency to Thursday’s summit.
Thursday’s meeting is unlikely to address Ukraine’s most pressing needs. It is not aimed at urgently drumming up more arms and ammunition to fill any supply vacuum created by the US freeze. Nor will all nations agree to unblock the estimated 183 billion euros ($196 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in a Belgian clearing house, a pot of ready cash that could be seized.
Still, the Europeans underlined the importance of the moment.
‘This is a watershed moment for Europe and Ukraine as part of our European family. It’s also a watershed moment for Ukraine,’ von der Leyen said, as she stood alongside Zekenskyy before striding together into the summit.
But perhaps the biggest challenge for the EU will be taking a united stance at a moment when it’s fractured, since much of the bloc’s actions requires unanimous support. Hungary is threatening to veto part of the summit statement on Ukraine, as is Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
‘We have to take decisions no matter the one or two which are opposing every time,’ said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. ‘Otherwise history will penalize us and we will pay a very high cost.’
Thursday’s summit is unlikely to produce immediate decisions on spending for Ukraine or its own defenses.
Another EU summit where the real contours of decisions would be much clearer is set for March 20-21.
