Foreign Ministers from European Union member nations met in Kyiv Monday for their first-ever meeting outside the 27-country bloc.
“I appreciate the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv that proved unity in support for Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media. “Continued EU military aid for Ukraine is important, both immediate and long-term, as well as financial assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia.”
Vice President of the European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell noted that discussions surrounding “overarching support to Ukraine” covered the military, security, EU accession and reform, accountability and “the peace formula.”
Amid the meeting, Ukrainian officials in Kyiv brushed off this past weekend’s drama in the United States, where continuing financial aid for Ukraine in its nearly-20 months-long war against Russian aggression was omitted from a 45-day stopgap spending bill to keep the U.S. government funded and avoid a shutdown.
“We don’t feel that the U.S support has been shattered,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, insisting that “the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine.”
And while Moscow hyped the U.S. legislation as a sign of increasing division in the West, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he expected Washington to continue its support for Kyiv, calling the omission of aid for Ukraine “a temporary phenomenon.”
Borrell, meanwhile, told reporters that the EU had proposed a spending package of up to 5 billion euros, or $5.25 billion, for 2024 that he hoped would be agreed to by this coming year.
