EU Council of Foreign Ministers approves €5 bln in military assistance to Ukraine

At the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, the final decision was made to allocate an additional 5 billion euros for military support to Ukraine within the framework of the European Peace Fund. The meeting was attended by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that.

The minister thanked his colleagues for this step and thanked the Czech Republic for the timely initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine and all EU member states that have already contributed to its implementation.

"I call on those still thinking about contributions to make them as soon as possible. This applies not only to the Czech initiative but also to several other similar initiatives. Every day matters," said Kuleba.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasized that Russia's threats against NATO and EU members indicate that the Russian dictator seeks to expand aggression. Supporting Ukraine is the only way to prevent these plans.

"The Ukrainian soldier is Europe's only hope for preserving peace. There should be no restrictions or delays in providing the Ukrainian military with everything they need to break the backbone of the Russian occupation forces on Ukrainian soil," Kuleba emphasized.

The minister welcomed the initiative of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the use of profits from frozen Russian assets for the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine. According to his conviction, the allies must also find the necessary legal grounds and political will to use the revenues and the assets themselves.

It is noted that Ukraine wants to implement two more similar initiatives by the end of the year, in addition to the Czech initiative for the supply of ammunition, and is already working with partners on their financing.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also mentioned that, besides the Czech initiative, there are other proposals as well. One was brought up during a meeting in Vilnius between the foreign ministers of Ukraine, the Baltic countries, and France. Kuleba stated that he called for the start of fundraising for this proposal "today."

"The Czech initiative is good, but it is not enough. Therefore, the financial aspects of the Czech initiative were resolved today, and the fiscal matters of other comparable initiatives need to be addressed tomorrow. We are aware of their existence, and the only thing standing in the way of their realization is access to financial resources", the minister noted.

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As previously reported, at their meeting, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union would consider using profits from Russian frozen assets and increasing the European Peace Fund by 5 billion euros to support Ukraine.

On March 13, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU at the level of ambassadors agreed on additional funding for the European Peace Fund and creating a specialized fund within this instrument to provide military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros during the current year.