European leaders eye increasing pressure on Russia's economy, defense industry

European leaders have announced their intention to increase pressure on Russia's economy and defense industry, as well as to develop mechanisms to utilize the full value of frozen Russian assets in Ukraine's interests, reads a joint statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Antonio Costa, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Store, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Report informs.

The document notes that the goal of these steps is to ensure Ukraine's strong position before, during, and after a possible ceasefire: "We are all united in our desire for a just and lasting peace, deserved by the people of Ukraine.

We strongly support President Trump's position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.

Russia's stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace. We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction.

Therefore, we are clear that Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position - before, during, and after any ceasefire. We must ramp up the pressure on Russia's economy and its defense industry until Putin is ready to make peace. We are developing measures to use the full value of Russia's immobilized sovereign assets so that Ukraine has the resources it needs.

Leaders will meet later this week in the European Council and in the Coalition of the Willing format to discuss how to take this work forward and further support Ukraine."