The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, indicated this Tuesday that there is majority support in the European Union to sustain long-term military aid to Ukraine in the context of the Russian invasion, when precisely one thousand days from the beginning of the attack.
At the end of the meeting of EU Defense Ministers, the head of European diplomacy stated that the European bloc as a whole, with one or two exceptions, in reference to Hungary and Slovakia, intends to maintain the supply of means military to Ukraine in the face of the Russian military offensive.
“The important thing is to measure the will of the Member States to continue supporting Ukraine. The Defense Ministers today and the Foreign Ministers yesterday, the vast majority, have shown their determination to continue supporting Ukraine,” he said at a press conference. from Brussels, facing the new scenario presented by Donald Trump’s return to the White House if he cuts military supplies and support to kyiv.
In the first EU Foreign and Defense meeting since Trump won the US elections, the member states have shown their “strong commitment” to supporting kyiv, said Borrell, who has especially emphasized the role of France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Italy, which this Tuesday met within the framework of the Weimar format to reiterate their commitment to maintaining military support for Ukraine.
According to Borrell, an immense majority of Member States agree that the fate of Ukraine will determine the future of the EU, which is why he has warned that if the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, gets his way in Ukraine “the bill will be very high.” “Much higher than any military support we can provide now,” he argued.
However, the High Representative has admitted that “there are a couple of countries that are not very enthusiastic” about sending weapons to Ukraine, in reference to Hungary and Slovakia, and they break the unanimity. Although he has said that his contribution in total terms to the EU’s efforts “is not important from a quantitative point of view.”
In a joint statement after the meeting, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom have expressed their determination to join forces to preserve European and transatlantic security in the face of the threat posed by Russia, when 1,000 days have passed since the invasion of Ukraine.
Also during the meeting, the Defense Ministers reviewed the military assistance they provide to Ukraine and which they have quantified at 45 billion euros. A figure that the EU Foreign Minister has indicated is lower than Washington’s “but not much less”, in an attempt to vindicate the EU’s role in supporting Ukraine. He has also confirmed that the EU has sent the million artillery shells that it promised to Ukraine as part of efforts to increase industrial production to supply the needs of the Ukrainian Army.