EU to double its support of military supplies to Ukraine
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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the EU will send an additional amount of 500 million euros to military support to Ukraine.
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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday that the European Union may soon agree to send additional 500 million euros ($548 million) to fund the military needs of Ukraine.
"[Another] 500 million euros of our contribution to military support to Ukraine… the European Peace Facility will double it support [by] 500 million euros," he said ahead of the informal meeting of EU leaders.
Borrell showed trust that the member states would promptly agree on the additional aid.
Last month, Washington permitted sending $350 million worth of military supplies to Ukraine, which is the largest package of aid in US history.
In parallel, the European Union has agreed to send $500 million worth of supplies to Kiev, and Ukraine nonetheless still urges the West to boost its military capabilities.
"It is critical that what we send in is what President Zelensky asks for because he knows what his military needs most," Sherman said.
Ukraine is requesting more weapons from West
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba asked the West in late February to send additional weapons in order to "confront" Russia. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister asked Britain to provide his country with "defensive" weapons, noting that Ukraine would resort to all diplomatic methods to "protect" the country.
He indicated that Ukraine would contact other nations regarding supplying Kiev with weapons, accusing Russia of backing out of the Minsk agreements.
Russia had for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.
After the West did not respond to Russia's demands, and amid Ukrainian shelling on the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, President Vladimir Putin initiated a special military operation in Donbass.
