By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-20 22:40:13 | Updated at 2025-03-21 15:01:52
16 hours ago
The European Union said it would move forward with its “steel porcupine” strategy to bolster Ukraine’s defenses from further Moscow aggression — as the bloc ignores Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands to end Western aid to Kyiv.
The EU claimed it was pressing ahead with the move to fortify Ukraine’s defense industry and armed forces, as well as a possible membership into the bloc, in order to deter Russia from ever invading the country again.
“For us, it will be important to continue to support Ukraine significantly — as the European Union as a whole, as allies and friends and as individual countries,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at Thursday’s EU summit.
The notion of turning Ukraine into a “steel porcupine” emerged earlier this month following a meeting with world leaders over how to end the Ukraine war and ensure the nation’s security.
“We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “It’s basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders.”
The linchpin of the strategy lies in building up Ukraine’s air defense system with the sales and procurement of interceptor missiles and drones, as well as long-range precision warheads.
The strategy also calls on the EU to provide at least 2 million rounds of large-caliber artillery shells for Ukraine each year.
European military officers will also help train tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, with vets from Kyiv offering the same to their EU counterparts.
Ukrainians would also be eligible to join the EU’s space program, with Kyiv granted access to services provided by national governments in the area of global positioning, navigation, surveillance and communications.
The EU leaders — with the exception Hungary, whose prime minister has cozied up to Putin over the years — also discussed the defense blueprint presented by the European Commission on Wednesday detailing how the coalition can meet Ukraine’s security needs.
The “Readiness 2030” strategy calls on Europe to cut its security dependency on the US and purchase its military equipment from within the continent, with the EU set to help cut the prices and speed up orders.
In recent years, the EU member nations have placed about two-thirds of their military orders with US defense companies. The countries are now being called to flip that number to suppliers in the EU, Norway or Ukraine if they want to qualify for new EU loans.
To that effect, the EU has opened up a new fund worth $162 billion that its member nations, Norway and Ukraine can openly borrow from for defense purposes.
“We must buy more European. Because that means strengthening the European defense, technological and industrial base,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The new wave of support for Kyiv comes after Putin’s call with President Trump, where the Kremlin leader called for the West to end all military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine.
Among Russia’s other key demands was for Ukraine to sharply cut the size of its military, and to renounce any prospect of joining NATO.
Trump denied that the subject of aid ever came up during his meeting with Putin, telling Fox News on Tuesday that “we didn’t talk about aid at all.”
With Post wires
