Borrell: EU support for Ukraine doesn’t depend on the course of the war

The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that European support for Ukraine is constant and structured and doesn’t depend on the course of hostilities.

He said this at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukrinform reports.

“Our support to Ukraine does not depend on how the war is going on in the next days or weeks. The Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with a lot of courage in front of impressive Russian defense fortifications. The satellite images show that in some cases, these fortifications are 25 km deep,” Borrell said.

The European diplomat noted that the offensive is complicated by dense mining.

He stressed that the EU is facing an existential threat, so support for Ukraine “doesn’t depend on one day”.

“Ukrainians are fighting with all their courage and capacities.  And if we want them to be more successful, we have to provide them with better arms, and quicker,” the EU Foreign Minister concluded.

Borrell arrived in Kyiv on Sunday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Together, they paid tribute to the Ukrainian defenders who died in the war unleashed by Russia.

He also met with new Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and discussed “continuous EU military assistance”.

Borrell added that he held “a constructive meeting” with Umerov, during which they discussed the country’s urgent military needs, such as ammunition and training of Ukrainian soldiers.

“It has been a meeting to identify the priorities with the defense minister. To tell him what we are doing and what more we could do,” Borrell said.