EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed a new aid package for Ukraine worth €5 billion for next year. Despite the show of solidarity, some EU members are disgruntled over how much is being poured in to the counteroffensive against Russian troops.
Borrell made the proposal at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv on 2 October – a gathering he said was "historic" because it was the first time it was held outside the EU in a candidate country that was at war.
Under the “bilateral envelope” to be paid via the European Peace Facility, EU countries would train 40,000 soldiers, provide “special training” for fighter pilots and deepen ties between EU and Ukrainian defence companies.
Borrell's proposal still needs to be validated by EU member countries. "I hope we can reach an agreement before the end of the year," he said at a joint press briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Sanctions pressure
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told the foreign ministers the duration of the war – now in its 20th month – was linked to the quality and quantity of support Ukraine receives from its allies.
"Our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end," Zelensky said in a statement.
To bring about a speedy end to the fighting, he urged the European Union to expand its sanctions on Russia and Iran, which has supplied attack drones for Russian forces.
And he called for the "acceleration" of work to direct "frozen Russian assets to finance the restoration of war-torn Ukraine".
The EU's 27 members have remained broadly united through the war on their support for Ukraine, hitting Russia with 11 rounds of sanctions and spending billions of euros on arms for Kyiv.
Potential block from the east
However Hungary, Russia's closest ally in the EU, could now be joined by Slovakia as a potential block to more backing, as populist Robert Fico pushes for power in Bratislava after winning elections there this weekend.
The foreign ministers of Hungary, Poland and Latvia did not attend the summit, a Ukrainian government official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the Polish and Latvian representatives were ill.
There have also been tensions between Kyiv and some of its most strident backers – most notably Poland – over the influx of Ukrainian grain onto European markets.
Kuleba told Borrell that the Kremlin was investing "huge resources" into its efforts to stir disunity among Ukraine's allies, but urged them to stand firm.
"Putin's greatest expectation is precisely that the West and the world will tire of standing on the side of Ukraine in this war," he said.
Lasting support
France's top diplomat Catherine Colonna earlier addressed the concerns, saying the meeting was a signal of the bloc's "lasting support for Ukraine, until it can win".
"It is also a message to Russia that it should not count on our fatigue. We will be there for a long time to come," she said.
The Kremlin, which anticipated a lightning-fast takeover of Ukraine and is counting on Western countries tiring in their support, predicted Monday that Western war fatigue "will grow".
Kuleba also urged EU support for a new maritime export route in the Black Sea, so it can reach its "full capacity".
Ukraine has been pushing for support for a naval route since Moscow scrapped a deal in July guaranteeing safe passage of grain exports in the Black Sea.
"A sea corridor through which Ukrainian grain can be exported to the world without the involvement of Russia is possible. We have already demonstrated it," Kuleba said.
US funding pulled
Concerns are also rising over aid from Washington, where a government funding deal this weekend left out fresh help for Ukraine due to opposition from hardline Republicans.
Washington has already committed more than $43 billion in security aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – over half the total from all Western donors.
But the White House on Monday rejected claims by the Kremlin that the West was fatigued on providing aid for Ukraine.
"If Putin thinks he can outlast us he's wrong," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
(with AFP)
