EU leaders, except Orbán, reject Putin's demand to halt military aid to Ukraine

The European Union has rejected Vladimir Putin's demand that military assistance to Ukraine should be completely halted as part of the ongoing negotiations towards a ceasefire, which the Russian leader has only partially accepted.

Putin doubled down on his request during a phone call with Donald Trump on Tuesday, when he agreed to stop attacks against energy infrastructure, far below the broad, unconditional ceasefire that the US and Ukraine endorsed last week in Saudi Arabia.

"It was pointed out that a complete cessation of providing Kyiv with foreign military aid and intelligence must become the key condition for preventing an escalation of the conflict and making progress towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means," the Kremlin said in its readout of the phone call.

But on Thursday, EU leaders, bar one, unequivocally rebuffed that demand.

In conclusions adopted during a summit in Brussels, heads of state and government reaffirmed their commitment to continue provisions of weapons and ammunition to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces resist Russia's full-scale invasion.

"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 defence capabilities as an essential component," the text reads.

"It calls on member states to urgently step up efforts to address Ukraine's pressing military and defence needs."

Prior to the summit, António Costa, the president of the European Council, said: "We will continue to support Ukraine now, in future negotiations and, especially, in peacetime."

The conclusions on Ukraine were endorsed as an "extract" by 26 leaders, as Viktor Orbán refused, once again, to sign up.

The Hungarian prime minister has spent the last weeks lashing out against the EU policy on Ukraine, suggesting Trump's inauguration has rendered it obsolete. Orbán is a vocal critic of military assistance to Kyiv and has, for almost two years, single-handedly blocked reimbursement through a common EU fund of €6.6 billion. He has twice threatened to derail the prolongation of EU sanctions against Russia, relenting only at the last minute.

Officials and diplomats in Brussels have grown accustomed to Budapest's opposition and have resorted to the "extract" format to allow the 26 to maintain an ambitious text, rather than going for a watered-down language that Orbán might be willing to tolerate.

The text approved on Thursday welcomes Trump's diplomatic overtures and "calls on Russia to show real political will to end the war," raising the spectre of fresh sanctions as a way to "step up pressure" on the Kremlin.

The 26 also commit to supporting "Ukraine's reform efforts on its path towards EU membership," a goal that Orbán has slowed down with his veto power.

During his virtual address to EU leaders, Volodymyr Zelenskyy took a thinly veiled swipe at Hungary for its obstructionism.

"It's unfortunate to say this, but some pressure is also needed within Europe itself to ensure that anything promised – actually happens," Zelenskyy said on Thursday. "It's simply anti-European when one person blocks decisions that are important for the entire continent or that have already been agreed upon."

"European efforts that should be bringing more security and peace are also constantly being obstructed. And I believe this is wrong," he added.

Putin's demand for a complete halt in military aid was also rejected by Trump, who, after a phone call with Zelenskyy, promised to help Ukraine find additional air defence systems to protect civilian infrastructure, "particularly in Europe."