Like the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the College of Commissioners, the President of the European Council, António Costa, announced, on Thursday 20 February, that he would be travelling to Kyiv on Monday 24 February.
“Monday 24 February marks the third anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I have decided to be in Kyiv for that occasion, with Mrs von der Leyen, to reaffirm our support for the heroic Ukrainian people and the democratically elected President (Volodymyr) Zelensky”, he explained on X.
Hungary still intends to block decisions in favour of Ukraine. On the same day, the European foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, are due to adopt the 16th package of sanctions against Russia (see EUROPE 13583/1).
Conversely, the renewal of European sanctions against individuals could wait. On Thursday 20 February, the Hungarian minister, Peter Szijjártó, announced that his country would not support the extension of EU sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, “because we need to give time to the peace talks between the United States and Russia”. “We will not agree to extend the sanctions on Monday - we have until 10 March”, he said.
Targeted sanctions against persons and entities responsible for violating or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine will be in place until 15 March 2025.
Hungary has also announced its opposition to the new aid package proposed by the EU for Ukraine. “We will not support spending European taxpayers’ money to prolong the war”, stressed Mr Szijjártó. The plan is due to be discussed on Monday.
Franco-British plan for a military force. In addition, on Thursday, British media, quoting Western sources, revealed that France and the UK were working on the creation of a European force of “less than 30,000 troops” to ensure Ukraine’s security in the event of a ceasefire agreement. This force would be essentially airborne and maritime, with a minimal presence on the ground and far from the front line. The aim of the military contingent would be to prevent Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns and infrastructure in the event of a ceasefire, according to The Guardian.
This plan could only be implemented with a US “safety net”, which, according to an official quoted by the British media, would be “oriented towards air power”.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are due to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington next week. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)