On Wednesday 21 August, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called on Member States to authorise Ukraine to use long-range weapons delivered by them to strike military targets on Russian territory.
“Lifting current restrictions” would strengthen Ukraine’s defence against Russian military aggression by putting an end to Russia’s sanctuary when it bombs Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from its territory, said Mr Borrell via X.
The High Representative said that the EU foreign and defence ministers would be discussing how to further strengthen support for Ukraine at their informal meeting in Brussels on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 August. He also described the ongoing Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory in the Kursk region as a “severe blow to Russian President Putin’s narrative”.
At the end of July, Mr Borrell decided to hold this ‘Gymnich’ meeting in Brussels, rather than in Budapest, in reaction to the ‘mission for peace’ undertaken by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the start of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, which took him to Moscow, where he met Vladimir Putin without an EU mandate (see EUROPE 13458/1).
At the beginning of August, the Council formally authorised the disbursement of a €4.2 billion tranche of aid to Ukraine as part of the €50 billion macroeconomic assistance package up to 2027 (see EUROPE 13460/25). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)