The European Union should take Ukraine's military needs into account as it determines the future strategy of Europe's defence industry, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

"Our strategy can only be complete if it also takes into account Ukraine's needs and Ukraine's industrial capacity," von der Leyen said in a speech at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency.

Von der Leyen said Ukraine should be integrated into EU defence programmes to help cater to its needs in its war against the Russian invasion. (Reporting by Andrew Gray and Bart Meijer; Editing by Alex Richardson)