EU foreign policy chief says ‘Ukraine needs backup now’

European defense leaders have reiterated calls for stronger international backing for Ukraine, stressing U.S. involvement, tougher sanctions, and expanded military aid.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said security guarantees for Ukraine must be “robust” and include U.S. participation. He suggested Sweden could contribute in “the air domain or maritime domain,” depending on Ukraine’s needs, and emphasized that consultations with Kyiv would shape any commitments.

“The road to peace is possibly two vehicles: one is increased support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The other is increasing sanctions and pressures. Putin will not move unless there’s more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiation table,” Jonson said.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken pledged both training and weapons, including the delivery of F-16 fighter jets “as soon as possible.” He also urged tougher sanctions coordinated with the United States, saying the EU “can do a lot of things” but must step up pressure alongside its allies. Francken noted that training Ukrainian soldiers outside Ukraine was safer until a cease-fire is reached.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene issued a stark warning, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tactics a ploy to “buy time to kill more people” while feigning openness to talks. She insisted, “Putin is not to be trusted,” adding that the strongest guarantees were “a strong Ukrainian army and pressure on Russia.”

Sakaliene also highlighted the importance of secondary sanctions to choke off funds to Moscow’s war effort and confirmed Lithuania’s €30 million ($35 million) contribution under the “April format” weapons list initiative.