EU Urges Countries To Send Ukraine Weapons In Days Not Weeks
The European Union’s top diplomat is urging member states to quickly provide Kyiv with the weapons it has asked for.
(Bloomberg) --
The European Union’s top diplomat is urging member states to quickly provide Kyiv with the weapons it has asked for, as Ukraine braces for Russia to step up its campaign in the country’s east, according to people familiar with weekend discussions.
Josep Borrell told EU diplomats a decision is needed in days and not weeks, and the bloc must do whatever it takes to help Ukraine, the people said.
Russian troops have been regrouping away from Kyiv as Moscow shifts its war campaign to the eastern Donbas region. Russia has suffered a series of setbacks in the north, stymied by fierce Ukrainian resistance on the ground and the adroit use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles supplied by NATO member states.
What happens in the east in the coming weeks will be crucial to the outcome of the war. With Moscow showing little sign of being serious about broader peace talks, Ukraine only has a small window to prepare and receive the weapons it needs, one of the people said.
The majority of EU governments committed to examining the weapons requests -- which include tanks and multiple launch rocket systems -- but have yet to indicate a firm time frame and which specific arms they might send, the person said. The topic will be discussed by foreign affairs ministers meeting in Luxembourg later on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters that Ukraine needed more military support, including heavy weapons. “Now is not the time for excuses, now is the time for creativity and pragmatism,” she said.
The U.K. announced last week it would provide Ukraine with some of those weapons, including anti-ship missiles.
“Now, another battle is coming, the battle for Donbas. And of course we are preparing to it, working with our partners to get all necessary weapons and really basically everything that one needs to win a battle,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. He cited the need for armored vehicles and shore-to-vessel weapons to help counter Russian navy ships coming from the Black Sea.
The Czech Republic’s public broadcaster last week showed footage of five tanks and five armored vehicles loaded on a train, saying it was a delivery to Ukraine, while Slovakia is providing Kyiv with an air-defense system.
The level of military support sent so far has varied between member states, with some countries, such as Germany, accused of being too slow. Meanwhile, Estonia has sent military assets worth about a third of its defense budget and Poland has provided more than 400 million euros ($436 million) in support, one of the people estimated.
Other nations have been reluctant to specify the weapons they were donating. And some, including Hungary, have said they will not provide Ukraine with arms. Budapest has also barred weapons from transiting its territory.
EU members have been advised to provide equipment from their front line supplies and not just their stocks given the urgency of the situation, according to the people familiar with the discussions. Russia is likely to want to announce some sort of accomplishment in time for its World War Two commemorations taking place on May 9, which means it will step up its attacks, two of the people said.
In the longer term, NATO allies are also looking at ways to help and train Ukraine transition to more modern weapons.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers are also expected to discuss further sanctions, including on oil, and holding Russia to account for reported war crimes.
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