Tusk: if words could change into rocket launchers, Europe would be a superpower

At the first day of the summit in Brussels, EU leaders adopted conclusions on Ukraine, the Middle East and Türkiye, underscoring the urgent need provide Kyiv with air defence.

"European Council strongly condemns Russia’s continued air and missile attacks against Ukraine’s civilians and civilian and critical infrastructure, including the recent intensified targeting of the energy sector. The European Union and its Member States will intensify the provision of humanitarian and civil protection assistance, including equipment such as power generators and power transformers," we read.

The European Council also underlined the necessity "to speed up and intensify the delivery of all the necessary military assistance, including artillery ammunition and missiles". "The European Council welcomes progress on the proposals to direct extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilised assets for the benefit of Ukraine and calls for their swift adoption."

The adopted document includes a provision stating that military support for Ukraine "will be provided in full respect of the security and defence policy of certain Member States and taking into account the security and defence interests of all Member States".

Polish PM Donald Tusk, who is taking part in the special summit, extended a call to fellow EU leaders.

"If all the words that were said in the last years here in Brussels about common defence, could be changed into bullets and rocket launchers, Europe would have become the strongest power in the world. And the safest place," Donald Tusk said on X on Thursday morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on the West to provide support for his country in the fight against Russia. "Rhetoric does not protect skies. Thoughts do not limit the production of terrorist missiles and drones," he wrote on Twitter on April 14.

"There is no more time to waste. Wherever life is threatened by terror, it must be protected through real action. Every effort must be made to prevent the evil of war from spreading throughout the world, whether in Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere," he added at the time.

Two days later, Zelenskiy told the American network PBS that the Russian forces had fired 11 missiles during the attack on the Trypilska power station, located in Kyiv Oblast.

"There were 11 missiles flying. We destroyed the first seven, and four destroyed Trypillia. Why? Because there were zero missiles. We ran out of missiles to defend Trypillia," he explained.