The EU accelerates arms supplies to Ukraine

The European Union is accelerating arms supplies to Ukraine to support the country's counter-offensive against Russian forces, EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton told the French newspaper Le Parisien.

“We intend to step up our efforts to supply arms and ammunition – this is a high-intensity war in which they play a crucial role,” said Breton, who has pledged to supply one million high-caliber weapons within the next year. “We are preparing for a war that will last several more months, or even more,” he added.

For the former Italian prime minister, Russia's special military operation in Ukraine "was not an act of unpredictable madness" but "a premeditated step" by Vladimir Putin and "a deliberate blow for the EU.

“There is no alternative for the United States, Europe and their allies other than to ensure that Ukraine wins this war,” Draghi said, speaking at MIT in Boston. “Accepting a Russian victory would deal a fatal blow to the EU".