Borrell: EU ready to continue supporting Ukraine as long and as much as needed
“The European Union stands united in support of Ukraine and the Member States remain ready to continue supporting [Ukraine] as long and as much as needed,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said, following an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Prague, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He noted that the flow of military support for Ukraine had continued and even increased. In particular, the support consists not only of military equipment, but also the training of the Ukrainian military. No concrete decisions were made on the launch of the EU training mission in Prague. Borrell noted that there were many initiatives underway so it was necessary to ensure their coherence. All the ministers agreed that it was necessary to define the legal operational parameters, the concept of the new mission, and agreed to carry out preparations in consultations with the Ukrainian side.
“It is clear that we need to be quick and ambitious, [to] demonstrate added value, flexibility, once again based on the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the EU High Representative said.
“The Ukrainian Defence Minister, Mr [Oleksii] Reznikov joined us by videoconference and updated us on the latest developments on the ground and on the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian army and [their] priorities. We have to respond to these needs and we unanimously agreed on this,” Borrell noted.
In addition, the ministers discussed the global consequences of Russia´s invasion, particularly the effects of Russia’s weaponisation of food supplies, grain exports, and energy supplies, together with representatives from the United Nations, NATO, and the European Parliament. “The security challenges are not just about Ukraine. There are other scenarios. Russia is increasing its negative influence,” Borrell stressed.
Answering a question about the restriction of Russian citizens' visa access to EU countries, Borrell noted that there were different approaches to this issue among EU member states. Today, during the informal meeting of the ministers, no decisions will be made on this matter, but the informal Council of the EU meeting will be able to determine the general political orientation regarding the trips of Russian citizens to the EU.
He also noted that the EU had a powerful package of economic and personal sanctions against the Russian Federation in place, having serious consequences for the Russian economy, including technology, energy, transport and the development of new oil and gas fields.
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