EU leaders will scramble Thursday to find ways to urgently address the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has imperilled the bloc’s economy and exposed a dire need for a stronger defence, writes France24.

The meeting at the Versailles palace was set to be the high point of France’s six-month EU presidency, but President Emmanuel Macron will instead spearhead a crisis summit to answer Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s brutal disruption to decades of stability in Europe.

“Russia’s war of aggression constitutes a tectonic shift in European history”, - a draft of the two-day meeting’s final declaration said.

The leaders will grasp “how the EU can live up to its responsibilities in this new reality, protecting our citizens, values, democracies, and our European model”.

The 27 heads of state and government meet as fighting raged for a 15th day in Ukraine, with more than two million refugees escaping mainly to Poland but also to countries across Europe.

“Our first priority is to send a political message to Ukraine that it belongs to the European family”, - an official from the French presidency said.