Following the talks in Berlin, European leaders issued a joint statement on security guarantees for Ukraine. The document was published on December 16 on the website of the Council of the European Union.

European leaders said Dec. 15 that "significant progress" had been made after two days of peace talks in Berlin and presented a plan for security guarantees and economic recovery support for Ukraine as part of an agreement to end Russia's war.

Unveiling her plan on Dec. 4, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for 2026 and 2027, for a total of 90 billion euros ($105 billion). International partners would fill the gap.

The EU’s top representative on foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas, similarly described it as a “make-or-break” moment for Ukraine, as parallel negotiations take place on a US-brokered peace proposal and a plan in Brussels to finance a large loan to help keep Kyiv in the fight should ceasefire talks stall again.

Even as negotiators claim progress in talks to end the war in Ukraine, the European Union remains deadlocked over how to sustain funding for the country’s defense. What EU leaders should recognize is that how they come up with the money matters far less at this point than that they do.

Ukraine claimed it carried out an underwater drone strike on Dec. 15, the first such attack in maritime warfare, that critically damaged a Russian Kilo-class attack submarine at the Russian port of Novorossiysk,

The European Union (EU) countries want to send a mission to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian army. This was announced on December 15 by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto.

The latest round of talks between Ukraine and the US aimed at ending the war have just finished in Berlin. Later, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will welcome European leaders to Berlin for an informal dinner. Follow the latest.