Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the European Union summit in Brussels Thursday, where he thanked EU members for a long-term security agreement they were expected to sign and urged delivery of promised packages of military aid.
During a press availability with European Council President Charles Michel, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the promised military aid but added that Ukraine’s battlefield needs are urgent, especially air defenses.
He also thanked the EU and Group of Seven nations for their pledge to use roughly $50 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s war effort.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy posted a statement on his official X account, saying he expected to sign a total of three security agreements with EU member nations, including one with the EU, as a whole.
“For the first time, this agreement will enshrine the commitment of all 27 Member States to provide Ukraine with extensive support, regardless of any internal institutional changes,” he said.
Referring to Ukraine’s EU accession talks, which began this week, he added, “Each step we take brings us closer to our historic goal of peace and prosperity in our common European home.”
Aerial attacks
Meanwhile, Ukraine said Thursday it thwarted nearly all of Russia’s overnight aerial attacks, with Ukrainian air defenses shooting down five Russian missiles and 23 drones.
The Ukrainian air force said Russian forces fired a total of six missiles at Ukraine, but did not specify the targets of the attacks.
Reports from regional officials showed Russia directed missiles and drones at parts of southern Ukraine.
Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region, reported on Telegram that Ukrainian air defenses shot down six aerial drones and three cruise missiles. In Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces shot down two drones.
Air defenses shot down another drone over the Dnipropetrovsk region, the governor there said on Telegram.
Russia’s defense ministry said its forces downed four Ukrainian aerial drones over the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, as well as two drones over the Moscow region and another over Belgorod.
Ukraine frequently targets Belgorod, which is located along the Russia-Ukraine border, with attacks against areas such as Moscow and Tver occurring more rarely.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.