"To make Ukraine a steel porcupine". Head of the European Commission named points for peace with Zelensky

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen voiced the main points on Ukraine's security for peace. The official made this statement at a press conference with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after their negotiations.

"Since the beginning of the brutal Russian invasion, united Europe has been on the side of Ukraine, and we will support you as long as it takes for a just and lasting peace, and this peace must be achieved with force," the European official said.

First, von der Leyen emphasized, strong security guarantees are needed to protect the vital interests of Kyiv and Europe: "Ukraine has to be able to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to support them."

The official noted that there can be no restrictions on the Armed Forces or military assistance and cooperation between Kyiv and other countries.

"And Ukraine must also become a steel porcupine that no potential attacker can digest," the head of the European Commission said.

She said that the partners welcome President Trump's willingness to provide security guarantees for Ukraine that "will be similar to NATO Article 5" (attack on one country means attack on all), and the 'coalition of the willing' and Europe are ready to contribute to this.

"We know that the job of defending Europe is first and foremost our responsibility, and we have worked hard to increase Europe's defense capabilities. Through the SAFE mechanism, we are making sure that the defense needs of member states and Ukraine can be met and that Ukraine's defense has been strengthened," von der Leyen added.

She noted that this includes the area of drones and announced a trip to EU member states "on the front lines" in the coming weeks.

She also said that decisions on the territories should be made only by Ukraine, and announced the adoption of the 19th package of sanctions against Moscow in early September.

• On August 18 Zelenskyy, von der Leyen, and a number of European leaders will go to a meeting with US President Trump to discuss with him the results of the summit with dictator Putin in Alaska.
• On the August 15 summit between the US President and the dictator, as well as further developments read in the chronicle by LIGA.net.