European defence ministers once again discussed their military support for Ukraine, on Tuesday 1 September, during their informal meeting in Wicklow (Ireland). After a particularly deadly summer, on Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed in massive strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region. These attacks prompted Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to renew his call for increased deliveries of anti-ballistic capabilities this autumn.
“Ukrainians (...) are standing strong and we have to support them. The main issue is air defence. They are lacking interceptors”, the High Representative of the EU, Kaja Kallas, reiterated once again, as available Patriot missiles are becoming increasingly scarce.
She said she hoped that countries possessing interceptors that will soon expire would send them to Kyiv. “Every interceptor we provide to Ukraine means that a Russian missile does not reach a Ukrainian school, home, or hospital”, pleaded the High Representative. The appeal went unanswered, with no country making any new delivery announcements at the meeting.
“We know that a number of countries, particularly in southern Europe, still have stocks which, according to our estimates, could be used to supply Ukraine”, added the Netherlands’ Minister for Armaments Procurement and Personnel, Derk Geertz Boswijk. This would notably include Greece and Spain.
Beyond sending available Patriot missiles “as quickly as possible”, the Dutch minister said it was “essential to join as quickly as possible” his country’s initiative, together with France and Ukraine among others, to develop European alternatives to the US system. According to Derk Geertz Boswijk, a European alternative could emerge within a year and a half. “If we work together, share our knowledge and our financial resources, it is possible that Europe can develop the system we need”, he stressed.
The High Representative also explained that the EU was making approaches to third countries to obtain interceptors, while acknowledging that this was “very hard”.
In addition to strengthening air defence capabilities, ministers discussed the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
Thus, beyond equipment, Ukraine also needs, according to Ms Kallas, modernised training infrastructure. On Tuesday, the Irish minister, Helen McEntee, announced that €10 million of the support her country announced in July for Ukraine would go to training facilities. Denmark, for its part, announced €3 million, according to Ms McEntee.
Ministers also discussed the future of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM), “including establishing a coordination cell in Kyiv, to better integrate the battlefield lessons and strengthen the military education”, Ms Kallas explained. EUMAM has already trained more than 95,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Defence industrial co-operation between the EU and Ukraine was also mentioned, as there are now reportedly more than 120 industrial partnerships between Ukrainian and European companies.
Making progress on the ‘European Peace Facility’. Ministers also discussed the ‘European Peace Facility’, with the High Representative and the Irish minister hoping for progress in the coming days.
Although Hungary has lifted its block on the ‘Facility’, there is still no agreement among Member States on the allocation of the €6.6 billion, regarding the share that would be returned to them and the share allocated directly to Ukraine.
Ms Kallas explained that “many Member States” had already announced that all the funds they would recover would be passed on to Ukraine. “This would also make it possible to free up significant funding for air defence, thereby meeting Ukraine’s needs”, she said.
Responding to Russian attacks against the EU. Moreover, explaining that Russia was striking Europe with a wave of hybrid attacks “are increasingly kinetic” in order to deter it from supporting Ukraine, Ms Kallas said that Europe had to take “the steps that we need to do”. “If we say that if you do this if we say that if you do this, we will do this, then we have to be ready to act on our words”, she explained, specifying that she had the feeling “that Russia is testing us all the time, getting a bit further, a bit further, and that is why we really need to respond”.
For her part, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, after assuring Germany of the EU’s full solidarity in the face of the hybrid attack that took place at Leipzig Airport on 14 August and was attributed to Russia this Tuesday, that the subject, “including possible additional sanctions”, would be discussed by foreign ministers. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)