Ukrainian Defence Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on his counterparts, on Monday 24 April, to accelerate the delivery of military equipment to his country while the EU27 have yet to agree on the legal details of a joint ammunition purchase (see EUROPE 13167/11).
On Twitter, while thanking the countries for the assistance already received, Mr Kuleba “urged them to adopt necessary new decisions ASAP. There are no shortcuts to peace unless the Russian army is defeated. The time will come for white diplomatic gloves. But first we must supply enough shells for the tired and oily hands of our artillerymen”, he explained after speaking by video conference to the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council. According to a diplomatic source, the minister emphasised the delivery of all kinds of equipment, especially in terms of air defence and artillery.
After the EU Council, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, promised that he would discuss with Member States’ defence ministers to ask them to accelerate the deliveries, adding that Member States understood the urgency of the situation.
Mr Borrell recalled that since the beginning of the invasion, military support from Member States had amounted to €13.1 billion.
According to him, ammunition and more than 1,000 missiles have already been sent as part of the destocking of missiles and ammunition from Member States eligible for reimbursement from the ‘European Peace Facility’ (Track 1). “We need to move faster”, he said, adding that the figures were not at the level he would like.
In total, Member States have already made claims in reimbursements of €600 million for these missiles and munitions.
On the joint procurement of ammunition (Track 2), the High Representative acknowledged that there were “still disagreements” between Member States, but said he was “confident” that an agreement would be reached in the “next few days”. Member State ambassadors are due to meet later this week to try to make progress on the issue.
Don’t put Russia and Ukraine back to back
Mr Borrell also denounced calls for peace negotiations from China and Brazil, saying that for these calls to be credible, it was necessary to go to Kyiv to see the situation on the ground. He also questioned where these calls for peace were when Russia was massing its troops on the Ukrainian border.
“It’s not that Russia doesn’t want to stop and neither does Ukraine. No, that’s not the way to present it. Russia doesn’t want to stop the invasion and Ukraine must continue to defend itself. This is the right way to put it”, he explained.
The High Representative recalled that there was an aggressor and an aggressed.
“We all want peace, first and foremost the Ukrainians, but it must be fair, and in the meantime we will continue to support the defence of Ukraine”, he warned. In addition, he explained that the EU would continue its sanctions against Russia.
Mr Borrell also explained the need to reach out more to third countries, to counter the Russian narrative, but also to go beyond crises and present a structural approach, a medium-term strategy to engage with these countries “in a way that is consistent” with the EU’s interests and values”. “You have to look beyond the crises”, he stressed. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)