Image: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/REUTERS.
The foreign ministers of the European Union held a “historic” meeting in Kyiv to announce the Union’s long-term support for Ukraine. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, stated that this was the first meeting of the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states outside the Union.
Mr Borrell referred to this meeting as “historic” in a post on the social media platform X. He emphasized that EU officials had travelled to the country to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
He considered the Russian war against Ukraine a threat to the existence of Europe and warned that this war had severe consequences for the entire world.
Catherine Colonna, the French Foreign Minister, emphasized the European Union’s determination to continue assisting Ukraine and stated that the presence of the foreign ministers of this Union in Kyiv carries the message that Moscow “should not count on our fatigue.”
At the same time, U.S. President Joe Biden called on Republicans to support the approval of a 45-day budget resolution to prevent a government shutdown. This temporary resolution eliminated new aid to Ukraine during this period. While Democrats advocated continuing assistance to Ukraine, some Republicans insisted on limiting such aid.
Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, also urged Congress to allocate more budget for assistance to Ukraine. He stated that the United States must remain committed to helping the people of Ukraine defend their country.
These statements come as Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced on the 9th of May that London had no plans to send British military trainers to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted to the U.S. Congress’s temporary resolution, stating that the United States and the European Union were growing weary of the Ukraine conflict. He noted that Moscow had foreseen this and predicted that such fatigue could lead to disagreements among Western countries.
The Kyiv Independent newspaper also reported that from February of this year until now, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted from the areas under Russian occupation and sent to other areas controlled by Russia in Ukraine or Russia itself.
