Facing the possibility of a fundamental disengagement under US President Donald Trump, European Union leaders opened a day of emergency summit talks on Thursday to beef up their own military defences and make sure Ukraine will still be properly protected by its allies.

European leaders will once again try to grasp control of negotiations over the war in Ukraine on Thursday, in an increasingly frantic tug-of-war against the US and Russia that could be nearing a climax.

European leaders aim to endorse bold measures to ramp up defence spending and pledge support for Ukraine on Thursday, after Donald Trump's suspension of military aid to Kyiv fuelled concerns the continent can no longer be sure of U.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders plan to hold emergency talks on Thursday to agree ways to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signaled that Europe must take care of its own security and also suspended assistance to Ukraine.

Prompted by President Donald Trump’s decision to distance the U.S. from Europe’s security and his determination to end the Ukraine war by aggressively demanding Kyiv give in to Russia, leaders will look at fresh ways to fund defense and rearm.

Germany called for the EU to reform its fiscal rules to allow countries to make bigger defense expenditures without running afoul of the bloc’s budget rules, according to people familiar with the talks.

EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were to meet to discuss boosting European countries' defense spending. Meanwhile, France's Emmanuel Macron showed openness to sharing Paris' nuclear deterrent.