European Union’s support for Ukraine doesn’t depend on one-day battlefield advances: Top diplomat
The European Union’s support for Ukraine doesn’t depend on one-day battlefield advances, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief stated.
“Our support does not depend on the advances of one day. It’s permanent, structured support because we are facing an existential threat for Europe,” Josep Borrell said during a news conference following a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
He emphasized that EU support for Ukraine “does not depend on how the war is going on in the next days or weeks,” adding that “the Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with a lot of courage in front of impressive Russian defense fortifications.”
According to Borrell, the satellite images show that in some cases, Russian fortifications are “25 km (15.5 miles) deep,” Ukrinform reported.
The EU’s top diplomat also said that if the partners want Ukraine to be more successful, they must provide it “with better arms, and quicker,” Ukrinform added.
Borrell arrived in Ukraine on Saturday, and since then he has visited the city of Odesa, honored the fallen soldiers in Kyiv and held his first personal meeting with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Ukrinform said.
Ukraine receives first batch of refurbished tanks from Poland
Ukraine has received the first batch of refurbished Leopard tanks from Poland, a Polish industrial partner announced Monday.
“While others are making declarations concerning the future, we are consulting with the Ukrainian side in our actions. The first Leopard tanks expressly refurbished at Bumar-Labędy have been received by the Ukrainian side,” the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
PGZ is “the main industrial partner” of the Polish Armed Forces, conducted by the Ministry of National Defense, according to the group’s website.
The group also confirmed that they are working on repairing another batch of tanks for Ukraine.
In April 2023, Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement to set up a hub in Poland to repair Leopard 2 battle tanks used in Ukraine to fight against Russian forces.
The hub was supposed to start its operations at the end of May, according to Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Biden “fully expects” new Ukraine funding but won’t answer questions about new assurances
US President Joe Biden said he “fully expects” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a majority of Republicans to approve new funding for Ukraine but declined to say whether he’d received any specific assurances on the matter ahead of this week’s passage of a stopgap government funding measure.
“We cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted. Too many lives are at stake, too many children, too many people,” Biden said Monday afternoon during a meeting of his Cabinet.
“I fully expect the speaker and the majority of the Republicans in Congress to keep their commitment to secure the passage of the support needed to help Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression and brutality,” Biden added.
Yet when pressed by reporters about the precise nature of that commitment, Biden remained silent.
He wouldn’t answer whether he’d received any new assurances from McCarthy about taking up new Ukraine funding — or even whether he trusted the Republican speaker.
A day earlier, Biden had told reporters “we just made” a deal on Ukraine with McCarthy, without elaborating. On Monday, the White House similarly declined to clarify the remark.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told CNN on Monday that they had no reason to believe that McCarthy had made a fresh commitment to the White House over the weekend on Ukraine funding.
And McCarthy himself denied to reporters he had made any side deals on promising to put Ukraine funding on the floor.
Still, Biden on Monday stressed it was essential Ukraine funding be approved to demonstrate American commitment to the country’s battle against Russia.
US State Department blasts Congress for not passing Ukraine aid funding
The State Department blasted Congress for not passing funding for “desperately needed” assistance to Ukraine.
“I’d like to echo the president’s disappointment that, despite longstanding and strong bipartisan support for Ukraine as it fights back against Russia’s invasion, that the continuing resolution that passed Congress on Saturday did not include desperately needed support,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.
Miller added that “while we have the ability to continue to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself in the immediate term, we have already exhausted much of the existing security assistance funding.”
The US will still be able to send equipment from its own stockpiles under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, but funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and the Foreign Military Sales system will be running out.
Miller stressed the previous bipartisan support in Congress for aid to Ukraine.
“If we allow authoritarians like President (Vladimir) Putin to do whatever they want to other sovereign countries, then the whole UN charter will be shredded, and we are going to like in a world where this kind of aggression can happen anywhere, anytime,” Miller stated.
“That would be far more expensive for the American people, and far more dangerous for the American people.”
Ukrainian foreign minister expects talks on accession to EU to begin before end of year
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymytro Kuleba says that negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should begin before the end of the year.
Speaking after meeting with European Foreign Ministers in Kyiv, Kuleba stated that “The topic that was a leitmotif in all the speeches was Ukraine’s membership in the EU. We are moving forward, we expect a decision to start negotiations on membership (in the EU) by the end of the year.”
Speaking alongside European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Kuleba noted: “The content and ambience of the discussion showed that we speak as a family… we have one goal and today in Kyiv it was powerfully demonstrated.”
Kuleba added: “We have not been offered anything, but Ukraine is a first-class state and we are not satisfied with anything but first-class membership.”
“It’s just a matter of time. Both Ukraine and the European side are determined to move forward as fast as possible, taking into account all the reforms that Ukraine has been, is and will be implementing.”
Kuleba said the Ukrainian side’s key message was that “we will accept the seven recommendations that the European Commission made for the opening of membership negotiations,” but expected “no additional requirements will be put forward.”
Those conditions include action on corruption and money laundering, media freedom and protection of minorities.
Borrell stressed Monday that European Union membership is the “strongest security commitment” that the bloc can give to Ukraine.
According to Borrell, the foreign ministers engaged in a “long debate” which managed to provide them with “a better idea of the security dimension of this situation” in Ukraine.
“We have been talking about the security commitments that we want to provide to Ukraine, showing our determination to stand by Ukraine in the long term,” Borrell added.
“And for sure the strongest security commitment that we can give to Ukraine is European Union membership. This is the strongest security commitment for Ukraine.Now Ukraine is a candidate country, and he is going further on his way.”
Germany says the future of Ukraine “lies in EU”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday that the “future of Ukraine lies in the European Union” and praised Ukraine for its ongoing reforms.
Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-Ukraine foreign ministers’ meeting in Kyiv, Baerbock said that the EU would “soon stretch from Lisbon to Luhansk.”
“With every village, with every meter that Ukraine liberates, with every meter where it saves its people, it paves its path into the EU,” Baerbock added.
The German foreign minister praised Ukraine for initiating a reform process during the war. Besides changes in the justice sector, Baerbock specifically applauded Ukraine’s attempts to tackle corruption.
Baerbock told reporters that the EU would further support Ukraine “every day” and help it prepare for winter. Ukraine required a winter protection plan consisting of air defense, generators, and a strengthening of its energy supply systems, Baerbock added.
Zelensky tells EU foreign ministers that victory depends on cooperation
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with European Union foreign ministers visiting Kyiv and said that he is “confident that Ukraine and the entire free world are capable of winning this confrontation [with Russia.]”
“But our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end. It will end fairly. It will end with the restoration of our territorial integrity and reliable guarantee of peace for the whole of Europe,” Zelensky said.
He described the ministers’ presence in Kyiv as a “step towards strengthening Europe…We need to constantly take new defense and diplomatic, political and integration, economic and sanctions steps that will make our common positions stronger,” according to the Presidency’s website.
“The more active we are, our leadership, our initiatives, the less likely Russia will be to adapt to our joint pressure.”
He added that besides further military aid and joint production of weapons, Ukraine’s path to NATO membership and a fresh package of sanctions against Russia were among the important steps to be taken, as well as “the beginning of negotiations this year on Ukraine’s membership in the EU.”
In response, EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell stated: “You can be sure of our determination to be by Ukraine’s side for as long as it takes.”