BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked his Western allies Thursday for more weapons and said 鈥渁 Ukraine that is winning鈥� its war with Russia should become a member of the European Union, arguing the bloc won鈥檛 be complete without it.
At the close of a 16-hour summit that ended Friday when Zelenskyy was already gone, the EU leaders pledged they would do all it takes to back Ukraine but offered no firm timetable for EU membership talks to begin as Zelenskyy had hoped.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders agreed to support Ukraine 鈥渢irelessly, over the long term 鈥� to win the war."
EU leaders pledged to look over the next month at boosting ammunition production for Ukraine's war effort as it faces fresh challenges from Russia.
EU Council President Charles Michel said the bloc needs to 鈥渃ooperate with the industrial sector and to ensure that we can speed up the level of production of ammunition and that they can also fulfill the commitments that are needed.鈥�
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a new 10-billion euro sanctions package under discussion would focus on depriving Russia of military goods it needs and cannot get anywhere else.
"The sanctions package 鈥渋s targeted on goods that are almost irreplaceable from somewhere else,鈥� she said.
While in Brussels, Zelenskyy asked Slovakia鈥檚 Prime Minister Eduard Heger to give Ukraine its Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. Slovakia grounded its fleet of MiG-29s last year. 鈥淲e will work on鈥� the request, Heger replied.
Macron didn鈥檛 rule out sending French fighter jets to Ukraine, but said Zelenskyy didn鈥檛 ask for them and they were not Ukraine鈥檚 most urgent need.
鈥淚n no case could warplanes be delivered in the coming weeks,鈥� Macron said, notably because of the necessary training. He said France may consider 鈥渋ntensifying鈥欌�� deliveries of other equipment such as artillery or missile systems.
The commitments came after an emotional day at EU headquarters where Zelenskyy wrapped up a rare, two-day trip outside Ukraine to repel the invasion that Moscow has been waging for nearly a year. As he spoke, a new offensive by Russia in eastern Ukraine was under way.
Zelenskyy, who also visited the U.K. and France, received rapturous applause and cheers from the European Parliament and a summit of the 27 EU leaders, insisting in his speech that the fight with Russia was one for the freedom of all of Europe.
鈥淎 Ukraine that is winning is going to be member of the European Union,鈥� Zelenskyy said, building his appeal around the common destiny that Ukraine and the bloc face in confronting Russia.
鈥淓urope will always be, and remain Europe as long as we ... take care of the European way of life,鈥� he said.
EU membership talks should start later this year, Zelenskyy said, an ambitious request given the huge task ahead. Such a move would help motivate Ukrainian soldiers in their defense of the country, he said.
鈥淥f course we need it this year,鈥� he said, then looked at European Council head Charles Michel, and insisted, tongue-in-cheek: 鈥淲hen I say this year, I mean this year. Two, zero, 23."
Von der Leyen, however, said 鈥渢here is no rigid timeline.鈥� In practice, membership often has taken decades to complete.
Zelenskyy held up an EU flag after his address and the lawmakers stood in somber silence as the Ukrainian national anthem and the European anthem 鈥淥de to Joy鈥� were played in succession.
Before Zelenskyy's speech, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said allies should consider 鈥渜uickly, as a next step, providing long-range systems鈥� and fighter jets to Ukraine. The response to Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 war against Ukraine 鈥渕ust be proportional to the threat, and the threat is existential,鈥� she said.
Metsola also told Zelenskyy that 鈥渨e have your back. We were with you then, we are with you now, we will be with you for as long as it takes.鈥�
Military analysts say Putin is hoping that Europe鈥檚 support for Ukraine will wane as Russia is believed to be preparing .
The Kremlin鈥檚 forces 鈥渉ave regained the initiative in Ukraine and have begun their next major offensive鈥� in the eastern Luhansk region, most of which is occupied by Russia, the Institute for the Study of War, said in its latest assessment. 鈥淩ussian forces are gradually beginning an offensive, but its success is not inherent or predetermined.鈥�
Zelenskyy used the dais of the European Parliament hoping to match Wednesday's speech to Britain's legislature when he thanked the nation for its unrelenting support.
That same support has come from the EU. The bloc and its member states have already backed Kyiv with about 50 billion euros ($53.6 billion) in aid, provided military hardware and imposed nine packages of sanctions on the Kremlin.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia鈥檚 Security Council chaired by Putin, visited a Siberian arms factory Thursday and said his country will respond to the Western aid by churning out thousands of tanks.
鈥淥ur enemy was begging for aircraft, missiles and tanks on a trip abroad,鈥� Medvedev said during a visit to the 邪actory in Omsk. 鈥淲e will naturally increase the output of various types of weapons and military equipment, including modern tanks. We are talking about production and modernization of thousands of tanks.鈥�
Fighting in Ukraine intensified Thursday, with Kyiv's military intelligence agency saying Russian forces have launched an offensive in the the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with the aim to grab full control of the entire industrial region, known as the . Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there since 2014.
鈥淎n escalation is underway and the main goal is to seize Donbas by the end of March,鈥� Main Intelligence Directorate spokesman Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian television.
In Donetsk, the front line expanded significantly over the previous day, with fierce battles taking place as Moscow鈥檚 forces closed in on key Ukrainian-held towns, according to regional Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko. Russian shelling struck a kindergarten, hospital, cultural center, factory and apartment buildings, he said.
鈥淭he intensity of the shelling has increased dramatically and we are seeing a significant intensification of activity by the Russian army immediately in the south, center and north of the region,鈥� Kyrylenko said. 鈥淩ussia is again actively using combat aircraft to shell our cities and villages.鈥�
Russian forces also stepped up attacks in neighboring Luhansk province, launching 鈥渁 broad offensive,鈥� regional Gov. Serhii Haidai said.
In Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv province, 23 cities and villages came under shelling. In the border city of Vovchansk, shelling damaged about 10 apartment buildings.
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Raf Casert And Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press
