EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine’s military needs should be taken into account when it comes to planning a European defense strategy, Sky News has reported. 

“Our strategy can only be complete if it also takes into account Ukraine’s needs and Ukraine’s industrial capacity,” the EU Commission president said at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency. 

Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen announced the European Commission would allocate 50 million euros ($54,7 million) to restore Ukrainian ports affected by Russian attacks. 

European Commission to allocate €50 million to restore Ukrainian ports

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine secured agreements to receive warships to protect cargo ships navigating the Black Sea grain corridor from Russian missile and drone attacks. 

Read more: 

• Ukraine’s economy suffers as Russia destroys 280,000 tons of Ukrainian grain
• 32 mn tons of Ukrainian grain exported in grain deal, slashing global prices by 23% – UK intel
• Putin refuses to resume grain deal