Europe Offers Ukraine a Hope of Joining the E.U., but Not a Vast Arsenal

European leaders on Thursday pledged support for putting Ukraine on a path to membership in the European Union but did not promise the country additional heavy weapons on the scale it says it needs to repel a bloody Russian advance in the east.

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Kyiv, all agreed to support Mr. Zelensky’s push to take the first step toward membership in the bloc, a move to redefine Ukraine as an integral part of Europe rather than a buffer state on its eastern rim.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany said that he and his fellow leaders had come “with a clear message: Ukraine belongs to the European family.”

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is expected to announce on Friday its official recommendation on Ukraine’s application to become a formal candidate for membership. Read more

@nytimes