Ukraine was in the spotlight on the first day of the European summit in Brussels with an appeal from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for more arms and ammunition.

Sources in the EU said all 27 member countries were united in their determination to help Kyiv prevail against the Russian forces in the country.   

Dominating day one of this meeting of the European Union heads of government, was the presence of the Ukrainian president via video link. 

While he thanked the EU for the $78 billion which has already been provided for support and hardware, Zelenskyy also renewed his call for more weaponry as Ukraine pursues its bruising counter-offensive.

The EU leaders again insisted as they arrived for the summit that the failed mutiny by the Wagner armed mercenaries was an internal matter for Russia. However, their first priority was to share the latest intelligence on what it means for the future prosecution of the conflict and whether neighboring EU members might feel the impact.                                                                                                                                       

In particular, the bloc have looked, along with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, at the potential risks of the Wagner troops regrouping in neighboring Belarus where they have been offered a base along with their boss and the leader of the mutiny Yevgeny Prigozhin who has already taken refuge there.

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda spoke of his fears of what might happen next. "We are the neighbors of Belarus and we are extremely concerned about these developments. Prigozhin is already there. I cannot be 100 per cent but it's very likely he's already there. The Prigozhin group or these serial killers as I call them, they could emerge in Belarus at any stage and no one knows when they might turn against us."

The leaders also looked at the issue of what to do with the S220 billion of assets seized from sanctioned senior Russians with close ties to the Kremlin since the conflict started.

Although some countries want to use all of the money for the reconstruction of Ukraine, the European Central Bank has warned there could be legal issues with spending the capital.

The EU has already signaled that it will use this summit to underline that whatever the lasting consequences of the weekend's events in Russia, all the member states are united in their support for Kyiv and will continue to supply quantities of arms and munitions to the Ukrainian forces.

Migration is another issue on the summit agenda but that is proving deeply divisive. Despite the tragic recent boat wreck in which hundreds of migrants including children are thought to have died, Poland is adamant it will resist EU plans for the relocation of migrants to member countries.

Countries which refuse their allotted quote could be fined $22,000 for each migrant they turn down which the Polish government says it will not pay.

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