Some NATO countries worry using any version of the term “Article 5” for Ukraine defense could weaken its deterrence.

Amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Moscow and Abu Dhabi, in an interview on TV channel France 2 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his European partners – as well as United States President Donald Trump – to put more pressure on Russia to end the four-year war.

Ukraine will be able to use €60bn (£52bn) of the loan to fund its armed resistance against Russia’s invasion over the next two years. The rest is for general budget support. Britain will be offered the opportunity to be considered as an EU country under the scheme’s rules should Sir Keir Starmer agree to pay an entry fee.