EU assistance to Ukraine will not include funding for supply of fighter planes – head of European Council

European Council President Charles Michel has said that EU military aid to Ukraine will not include funding for fighter jets.

He said this in an interview with several European publications, including Le Journal du Dimanchе.

"500 million euros have been mobilized under the European Peacekeeping Fund, 450 million for lethal weapons and 50 million for non-lethal aid. This is the first time we have activated it (the fund) for the delivery of lethal military equipment. But these European funds will not be used to finance the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine," Michel said.

He added that arms supplies to Ukraine did not mean that the European Union was at war with Russia.

"Russia has started the war against Ukraine, a friendly country very close to the EU. That is why we support Ukraine at all levels," he said.

"With Russia, despite the tragic situation we are experiencing, we have left our channels of communication open, even if it remains difficult, fragile, and upsetting," Michel added.

Note

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on NATO countries to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine or at least to supply fighter planes to Ukraine.

So far, these calls are being rejected by NATO.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the United States was looking for ways to quickly replenish Polish fighter jets so that Poland can provide Ukraine with its own warplanes.