Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, took part in an informal meeting of his European counterparts on Thursday 29 August, calling on EU Member States to step up their military support for his country.
Ukraine, which is suffering massive air attacks on its civilian infrastructure, including its energy infrastructure, is conducting an offensive in the Russian region of Kursk. According to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, this offensive, a “bold strategic move” that strikes a blow at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative, has received the support of many Member States.
Mr Kuleba explained that European support involved both the supply of munitions and air defence systems and the lifting of restrictions on the use of equipment to strike “legitimate military targets” on Russian territory. While this last request is particularly addressed to the United States and the United Kingdom, the Minister felt that Europe, as part of the same coalition, could influence their colleagues. “I call on the European Union to play a role and to say loud and clear that something must be done now”, said Mr Kuleba, who explained that, since the start of the war, every problem had been solved, but that the key issue was “timing”.
Following the meeting with his European counterparts, the Minister welcomed the intention of “a number of EU Member States to advocate the lifting of restrictions [...] in their bilateral dialogues with other members of the coalition”.
The Ukrainian representative also regretted the delays between the announcements of support and the actual arrival of this support. “Sometimes, the interval is excessively long. We can’t make a military plan with what we can and can’t count on on the battlefield”, he stressed.
He said that while “good progress” had been made in the delivery of air defence systems, “there are still systems that have been announced that have not yet been delivered”. The Minister therefore urged all the countries that had made promises to honour them and, at the end of the meeting, acknowledged the willingness of his colleagues to take the necessary steps to speed up these deliveries. He also called for greater investment in Ukraine’s defence industrial and technological base, which would save time in logistics, for example.
On his arrival at the EU Council, the Lithuanian minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, maintained that no new batch of munitions had been delivered since June. “In our discussions with Ukrainian friends, we learnt that some of the equipment promised last year will not be delivered until 2027”, the Minister also lamented.
His German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, promised that by the end of the year, four more IRIS-T air defence systems would be delivered to Ukraine, along with other ‘Guépard’ air defence systems, “because air defence remains the most important element in protecting human lives on the ground in Ukraine”.
Considering that “Russia [wanted] to bomb a European country until it surrendered completely” Mr Kuleba explained that Russia’s success depended on one thing: “the willingness of [Ukraine’s, editors’ note] partners to take bold decisions”. “If decisions are taken, Ukraine will succeed on the ground. If they are not taken, don’t complain about Ukraine, complain about yourselves”, he warned.
The Minister explained that if his country received a “sufficient quantity of missiles” and was authorised to strike, it would “considerably” reduce Russia’s ability to inflict damage on critical infrastructures and would improve the situation of its forces on the ground.
Support from Mr Borrell
The High Representative supported Ukraine’s requests. “We can do better and faster”, admitted Mr Borrell. “Kuleba’s message was clear: EU support makes a difference, but the delays are proving too costly. They were yesterday, they are today and they will be tomorrow”, he added, adding that these delays were measured in human lives.
Noting that August was a “very difficult and bloody” month, and that on 26 August alone, Russia had launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Ukraine, Mr Borrell felt that the delivery of air defence equipment, which was essential before the summer, was “much more critical today”. According to the High Representative, since February 2022, Russia has fired more than 14,000 drones, and nearly 10,000 missiles and guided bombs at Ukraine, most of them from Russian territory.
The High Representative called for restrictions on the use of weapons to be lifted. “The weapons we supply to Ukraine must be able to be used to the full and restrictions must be lifted so that Ukraine can target the locations from which Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, these weapons are useless”, he warned.
Several European ministers have also called for the release of funds from the ‘European Peace Facility’ for Ukraine, so that military support can be stepped up. €6.6 billion is still blocked. Mr Borrell promised that he would “look for a way to resolve this problem with the veto of one Member State, because it is not acceptable”. Previous attempts, including a kind of opt-out for Hungary, have proved unsuccessful. “Ukraine desperately needs this aid”, said Belgian Hadja Lahbib.
According to Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is critical of Mr Borrell’s “irresponsible proposals” regarding Ukraine, stressing that “Hungary does not want to see more weapons sent to Ukraine, more deaths or an escalation of the war”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)