Brussels, 6 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - European Union leaders will gather on Thursday in Brussels to find a response to the United States' drastic turn on support for war-torn Ukraine.

In a race against time, EU leaders aim to find solutions on how to increase defence spending to further support Ukraine and significantly improve Europe's defence capacity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address EU leaders.

US President Donald Trump announced earlier this week plans to halt military aid for Kiev, days after he clashed publicly with Zelensky at the White House.

EU countries and Ukraine are alarmed by the prospect of the US and Russia seeking a peace settlement bilaterally which could grant Moscow territorial concessions, exclude Ukraine from NATO and close the door on US participation in future peacekeeping operations.

Leaders are to discuss a plan pitched by the European Commission to mobilize close to €800 billion ($856 billion) for Ukraine aid and defence investments.

The commission proposed to provide €150 billion in loans which it hopes will be matched with private capital and additional funding from the European Investment Bank.

The money is to be spent on missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, and to address other needs from cyber to military mobility.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to attend the summit. Friedrich Merz, who won last month's parliamentary elections in Germany and is likely to suceed Scholz, is also expected in Brussels to attend a gathering of conservative leaders.

Efforts were under way in the bloc in recent days in hopes to avoid that the EU's show of unity and solidarity with Ukraine could once again be thwarted by Kremlin-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Orbán announced last weekend his intention to block new military support efforts for Ukraine at the summit.

In a letter to European Council President António Costa, who will chair Thursday's talks, Orbán suggested that the EU should follow the example of the US and engage in direct talks with Russia about a ceasefire and an agreement in Ukraine.

Costa replied that the EU should prepare to engage in discussions to achieve a just and lasting peace but to also contribute to strong security guarantees for Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to receive Orbán for talks at the Elysée Palace on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Scholz's Social Democrats and Merz's conservatives announced that Germany's strict rules on taking on new debt, the so-called debt brake, will be eased for specific defence investments.

MIA file photo