European leaders said Dec. 15 that "significant progress" had been made after two days of peace talks in Berlin and presented a plan for security guarantees and economic recovery support for Ukraine as part of an agreement to end Russia's war.

Unveiling her plan on Dec. 4, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for 2026 and 2027, for a total of 90 billion euros ($105 billion). International partners would fill the gap.

The EU’s top representative on foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas, similarly described it as a “make-or-break” moment for Ukraine, as parallel negotiations take place on a US-brokered peace proposal and a plan in Brussels to finance a large loan to help keep Kyiv in the fight should ceasefire talks stall again.

The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze Russia’s assets in Europe to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia, both with Moscow-friendly governments, can’t prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine.

A U.S. official told reporters later that, under the deal being discussed in Berlin, Ukraine would receive security guarantees similar to those provided in Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which requires the alliance to come to the defence of any member that comes under attack.

Ukraine claimed it carried out an underwater drone strike on Dec. 15, the first such attack in maritime warfare, that critically damaged a Russian Kilo-class attack submarine at the Russian port of Novorossiysk,

Berlin talks saw U.S. propose NATO-style guarantees for Ukraine, but territorial disputes blocked a breakthrough.

The European Union (EU) countries want to send a mission to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian army. This was announced on December 15 by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto.