EU prepares long-term security commitments for Ukraine: Borrell

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has promised sustained EU support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

“Ukraine needs more capabilities, needs them faster,” Borrell said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, claiming that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine is an “existential threat” to Europe.  

"We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," he added.

The EU chief made the remarks after his first in-person meeting with Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerove in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, as they discussed “continuous EU military assistance.”

He also called on US lawmakers on Sunday to reconsider their decision to omit financial support for Ukraine from a stop-gap budget bill Congress passed to halt a federal government shutdown.

Umerov, whose appointment by President Volodymyr Zelensky received parliamentary approval on September 6, thanked Borrell in a statement on X for “continuous support”, saying the meeting was “a starting point for the great cooperation.”

According to Ukraine’s defense minister, their discussions of EU military aid to Ukraine covered artillery and ammunition, air defense, electronic warfare (EW), long-term support programs, training, and defense industry localization in Ukraine.

Borrell met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Together with Ukraine’s president, Josep Borrell paid tribute to the Ukrainian soldiers who died during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

ME