German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterates that it's still "our current task to do everything we can to prevent this war from escalating", after EU leaders met and agreed to boost the bloc's defences at a crisis summit, as Washington said talks with Kyiv were back on track to secure a ceasefire with Russia. "We need our own strong defence alliance, NATO. We must ensure our own security in Europe. We must ensure that Ukraine can be an independent, sovereign, democratic nation," Scholz adds in Brussels. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES