The European bloc sides with Ukraine

All European leaders except Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voted in favor of the bloc's stance of unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the summit via video link, calling for unity within the bloc and new sanctions against Russia.

European leaders, except for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, unanimously agreed to offer unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity during a summit in Brussels on Thursday. They also expressed their readiness to impose new sanctions on Russia after a videoconference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The surface of unity was dented by Orban's refusal to support the European Union's joint text. The Hungarian prime minister's refusal to support Ukraine is not unusual, as he had acted in the same way two weeks earlier, at the March 6 summit, also held in Brussels. 

Orbán's growing confidence in not aligning with Europe on the Ukraine issue raises questions about the bloc's ability to impose new sanctions or renew existing ones.

Zelensky told European leaders "not to reduce pressure on Russia regarding the war. Sanctions must remain until Russia begins to withdraw from our soil and fully compensates for the damage caused by its aggression." 

In an implicit reference to Hungary's lack of support, the Ukrainian leader added that it is "simply anti-European when one person blocks decisions that are important for the entire continent or those decisions that have been agreed upon in advance." 

Meanwhile, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who currently serves as Minister of Finance in the Norwegian Government, has said that uncertainties over American commitment to the North Atlantic Alliance are not a reason to "give up on NATO", but rather should serve as additional motivation for Europe and Canada to increase defense spending.

"We must do everything we can to ensure that NATO remains a strong alliance between North America and Europe, which has kept us safe for more than 75 years. There have been differences and disagreements in the past, but we have managed to overcome them by agreeing that we are safer when we stand together," Stoltenberg said from Copenhagen, shortly before Zelensky arrived in Norway on Thursday.

"I do not rule out the possibility that the US may reduce its contribution in relation to NATO structures, in relation to NATO forces, but I expect the United States of America to remain a NATO ally," he added.

The meeting in Brussels took place two days after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where an agreement was reached on a limited 30-day ceasefire over energy infrastructure in Ukraine.