PARIS, February 6. /TASS/. The EU intends to turn the Ukrainian army and military industry a part of its own military capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, speaking at the European Parliament session.

"As we look to the future, we must think of Ukraine’s defense capabilities as a part of our own defense capabilities; we must think of Ukraine’s defense industry as part of our own defense industry," she said. "And this is why we have involved Ukraine in the preparations of our own defense industrial strategy. It is the first step, which should lead to integrating Ukraine in some of our defense programs."

Von der Leyen opined that this will "encourage convergence and joint planning between our militaries and military industries."

Warning that "there will be more suffering" ahead, she added that Ukraine is a "future member of our European Union," claiming that Europe will be "at Ukraine’s side for every single day of this war and for every single day thereafter."

She pointed out that the EU was unable to fulfill its promise to provide 1 million shells to Ukraine between March, 2023, and March, 2024, but assured that Kiev will receive these munitions by the end of this year. In addition, she noted that the EU spent 28 billion euros on arms shipments to Ukraine and trained 40,000 Ukrainian servicemen.

During the same session, European Council President Charles Michel stated that "every euro spent on Ukraine will become an investment in the EU’s security and prosperity in the future," calling to ramp up arms shipments to Kiev.