BRUSSELS, Belgium: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the bloc would ensure Ukraine that it has sufficient military equipment during its ongoing war against Russia.
“The European Union will not let Ukraine run out of equipment,” he told reporters in Brussels after a meeting of the bloc’s defense ministers this week.
His comments came during the meeting, which included NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoan and the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov.
Reznikov reviewed for the ministers the current military situation on the ground in Ukraine. He also presented a list of the military requirements for the Ukrainian army, which the EU has consistently supported.
Borrell noted that the arms provided by the EU were making a difference on the battlefield, and urged EU countries to continue replenishing Ukrainian stockpiles.
“This support is critical because the war is at a turning point. We cannot let Ukraine run out of equipment. And we will not,” said Borrell. “The battle in the Donbass is at a moment in which the counteroffensive of the Ukrainians and [the] push [against] the Russians are having some extraordinary success like the one the other day against a column of Russian tanks, and shows that Ukrainians continue having an incredible capacity to resist and counterattack.”
Borrell also announced that an additional €500 million in aid would soon bring to €2 billion the EU’s total military support to the Ukrainian armed forces since Russia’s invasion began.
Borrell also reported that, as of 17 May, the EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine had restarted its work in Kiev to investigate and prosecute war crimes.
