EU leaders are to meet in Brussels to discuss ways to radically increase military and financial support for Ukraine amid calls for member states to put their economies “on a war footing”.

Fuelled by what one diplomat said was a new “sense of urgency and immediacy” over the war in Ukraine, rhetoric on Moscow has notably hardened in the past few days.

On Thursday prime ministers are also expected to examine contentious plans to confiscate billions of euros in interest from frozen Russian assets and send the vast majority of the money to Ukraine.

Archive