German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to discuss providing arms support for Ukraine.
The meeting with the international leaders was held in Berlin as they sought to repair relations following strained ties under Poland's previously nationalist government. After the Friday Chancellery meeting, Scholz said that they would immediately start acquiring more arms for Ukraine.
European Leaders Meet in Support of Ukraine
The German chancellor added that the arms will be procured from the global arms market. Additionally, he noted that they will increase military arms production capacity, which will be done in cooperation with their partners on the ground in Ukraine.
Scholz added that a new coalition that seeks to provide long-distance artillery rockets will be set up within the so-called Ramstein Format. This is a 40-plus member group of allies, both NATO and non-NATO, and from across Europe, North America, and Africa.
The leaders also announced that the European Union will work to expand financial as well as training assistance. The German chancellor added that they will take advantage of windfall profits from frozen Russian assets in Europe to provide financial assistance to Kyiv as well as to purchase additional arms, according to DW News.
The summit comes as Ukraine's military is requesting more help and supplies from Western members as it continues to struggle to fight off Russia's military. In addition, Kyiv's forces have recently had difficulties defending territory and the EU's pledges to make a million artillery rounds have fallen short of targets.
Tensions have also escalated between French and German leaders after Macron refused to rule out the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine. This was a move that Scholz said neither Germany nor NATO would take amid the conflict.
Macron and Scholz have adopted differing strategies in their support of Ukraine's defense against Russia. The former has been seen as being far more hawkish than his German counterpart. This comes as the latter's supporters have called him a "peace chancellor" who seeks to avoid an escalation toward war between Russia and NATO members.
Additional Aid for Kyiv
European support for Ukraine has become increasingly key as United States President Joe Biden has struggled to provide an aid package for Kyiv. Additionally, the majority of the Democratic leader's foreign policy energy is now focused on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, said Reuters.
The summit comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month called for the EU to consider using Russia's frozen assets to "jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine." The commission is also expected to make a concrete proposal on the matter in the next few days.
During the meeting between leaders, Scholz said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could rely on them as they were renewing their signal for support for Kyiv. However, he also said that the summit was a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that they would not let up their support of Kyiv.
In a statement after the summit, Tusk said that they want to spend their money and help in every possible way. He noted that these efforts seek to make the situation in Ukraine in the coming weeks and months better, not worse, according to the Associated Press.
