EU presses on with steel 'porcupine strategy' for Ukraine as Russia tries to end Western support

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key peace demand that Western allies stop providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine is quietly being ignored by the European Union.

As U.S.-led talks with Russia and Ukraine progress, without the Europeans at the table, the 27-nation bloc is pressing ahead with a steel “porcupine strategy” aimed at building the Ukrainian armed forces, and the country’s defense industry, into an even more formidable opponent.

At an EU summit on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it’s “central” that Ukraine should remain an independent democratic nation that can continue its journey toward EU membership and “that it also has a strong army of its own after a peace agreement.”

“For us, it will be important to continue to support Ukraine significantly — as the European Union as a whole, as allies and friends and as individual countries,” Scholz told reporters in Brussels.

A few hours after he spoke, Scholz's EU counterparts — with the exception of Hungary, which opposes the bloc's “peace through strength” stance — called on member countries “to urgently step up efforts to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defence needs.”

Mindful of Russian deception in the past — the “little green men ” who annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, or the troop buildup in 2021 that Moscow denied would lead to any invasion — the Europeans are deeply skeptical about Putin’s intentions and whether he would accept any peace terms.

With the U.K. and other partners, some European countries are working on a deterrence force to police any future peace. At the same time, Ukraine’s best security guarantee, apart from the NATO membership that the U.S. refuses, is that its own army is strong and well supplied.

In a defense blueprint unveiled on Wednesday, the European Commission set out how it plans to meet Ukraine’s security needs, with EU money available to help bolster its defense industry, which produces arms and ammunition more cheaply and closer to the battlefield.

“Ukraine is currently the front line of European defense, resisting a war of aggression driven by the single greatest threat to our common security,” the document says. “The outcome of that war will be a determinative factor in our collective future for decades ahead.”

At the heart of the EU’s strategy is a commitment to provide air defense systems and missiles — including long-range precision warheads. In groups, countries would jointly purchase the equipment and financially back Ukraine’s own effort to obtain them.

Drones are a major advantage on the battlefield, and the EU intends to back Ukraine’s procurement of them and help it build its own production capacity, including through joint ventures between European and Ukrainian industries.

Another aim is to provide at least 2 million rounds of large-caliber artillery shells each year, and to continue a training effort that has helped to prepare more than 75,000 Ukrainian troops so far. In return, European troops will learn from Ukraine’s front-line experience.

Ukraine would also be able to take part in the EU’s space program, with access to the services provided by national governments in the area of global positioning, navigation, surveillance and communications.

Financially, and beyond the estimated 138 billion euros ($150 billion) already provided to Ukraine, the government in Kyiv would be able to secure cheap loans for defense purposes — as can EU countries and Norway — from a new fund worth 150 billion euros ($162 billion).

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, speaks with Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, second left, as Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden, right, speaks with Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, second right, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

From left, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe, and European Council President Antonio Costa during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center, arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is seen through the viewfinder of a television camera as he speaks with the media during an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)