BRUSSELS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to a special EU summit on March 6 to discuss possible European “security guarantees” for Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Feb. 27.

Europe is scrambling to make its voice heard after U.S. President Donald Trump sidelined Kiev and its backers on the continent by launching talks with Russia to end the three-year war.

Next week’s talks in Brussels will focus on supporting Kiev and bolstering Europe’s defenses after Trump’s opening to Moscow, and hopefully strike a deal on a new weaponry for Kiev.

Costa, who heads the body representing the EU’s 27 member states, told leaders in an invitation letter the “new momentum” around a Ukraine settlement “should lead to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”

He told leaders he had invited Zelensky to discuss “the latest developments.”

“The EU and its member states are ready to take more responsibility for Europe’s security,” Costa wrote.

The bloc, he said, “should therefore be prepared for a possible European contribution to the security guarantees that will be necessary to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine.”

The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas has proposed providing Ukraine with a major weapons package, including air defense, artillery shells and missiles, as quickly as possible.

But the package risks being blocked by Hungary, which is friendly with Trump and Russia.

Trump’s team has not only sparked fear in Europe over Ukraine but also about Washington’s commitment to protecting its NATO allies.

On defense, Costa said the meeting aimed to reach “first decisions” towards helping Europe become “more sovereign, more capable and better equipped” to deal with security challenges.

Meanwhile, North Korea has sent more soldiers to Russia and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk, Seoul’s spy agency told AFP yesterday.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that more than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive state were sent to Russia last year to help it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk border region.

Earlier this month, Seoul said North Korean soldiers previously fighting alongside Russia’s army on the Kursk frontline had not been engaged in combat since mid-January.

Ukraine also said they had been withdrawn following heavy losses.

Yesterday, an official from Seoul’s National Intelligence Agency said they had been “redeployed” there.

That came alongside “some additional troop deployments appearing to have taken place,” the official added.

“The exact scale is still being assessed,” the official said.

Ukraine has previously said it captured or killed several North Korean soldiers in Kursk.

Zelensky has also released footage of interrogations with what he said were North Korean prisoners captured by the Ukrainian army there.