The European Union (EU) is preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine, according to Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
During his trip to Kyiv, Josep Borrell noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an “existential threat” to Europe.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat for all of us. In our 1st in-person meeting with Rustem Umerov [Ukraine’s Defense Minister – ed.], we discussed continuous EU military assistance. Ukraine needs more capabilities and needs them faster. We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine,” Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter (X).
Josep Borrell arrived in the Ukrainian capital on 30 September and met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Together with Ukraine’s President, Josep Borrell paid tribute to the Ukrainian defenders who died during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat for all of us.
In our 1st in-person meeting with @rustem_umerov, we discussed continuous EU military assistance. Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster. We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine pic.twitter.com/xxILeYa1J8
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 1, 2023
Before coming to Kyiv, Borrell made an unannounced visit to Odesa in southern Ukraine. Borrell visited Odesa’s Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, damaged by a Russian missile attack last summer. Russia regularly attacks civilian infrastructure in Odesa and Odesa Oblast, aiming to destroy Ukrainian ports, warehouses, and grain terminals to block Ukraine’s grain exports.
Related:
- Biden urges US Congress to approve Ukraine aid left out of govt shutdown prevention deal
- MarineTraffic: Five cargo vessels heading for Ukrainian Black Sea ports amid Russia’s blockade
