The European Union should "start a conversation" about buying armaments for Ukraine using the profits from frozen Russian assets, the European Commission's president told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"It is time to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine," said Ursula von der Leyen, addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
EU member states have already agreed in principle that the returns on frozen Russian assets - though not the assets themselves - can be used to support Ukraine, such as by rebuilding war-damaged infrastructure. But they are waiting for the commission to come up with a legal proposal to put that into practice.
Whether the profits might be used to buy military equipment and weapons, rather than for civilian purposes, has thus far been largely a matter of speculation. But von der Leyen's speech on Wednesday was the first clear indication that the commission might back the idea.
"There could be no stronger symbol and no greater use for that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," von der Leyen said.
The commission president also said Europe needs to prevent a Russian victory in Ukraine "with or without the support of our partners."
However, she did not name the United States, where congressional support for continued military aid is waning and Donald Trump, who came out against a $60 billion Ukrainian aid package pending in the US House of Representatives, looks set to be the Republican nominee in this year's presidential election.
"We do not have the control of elections or decisions in other parts of the world," von der Leyen said. "With or without the support of our partners, we cannot let Russia win."
