EU Defense Ministers Discuss Support for Ukraine Amid Ongoing Conflict
During a recent meeting, EU defense ministers addressed the urgent need to enhance military support for Ukraine as Russian bombardment continues to threaten peace efforts, reports 24brussels. Under the European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM), 23 EU nations, along with Norway and Canada, have trained approximately 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers. However, any changes to the mission’s mandate require unanimous approval from the bloc’s 27 member states, putting pro-Russia Hungary in a position to wield veto power.
The meeting follows the damaging of the EU delegation’s building in Kyiv by Russian airstrikes, highlighting skepticism about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions to cease hostilities. “Hopes of possible peace negotiations are at least naive. All Putin is doing is stalling, cheaply buying time to keep killing people,” stated Lithuania’s Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė ahead of the discussions.
Most EU defense ministers, with the exception of Hungary, are eager to utilize the remaining €6.6 billion available in the European Peace Facility to finance military supplies for Ukraine. However, Hungary has prevented access to these funds for several months. “All the countries today were raising this issue of unblocking; you don’t have to be a part of it, but let others do it,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas commented. “Continued blocking of the EPF is not justified.”
In an effort to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Donald Trump, Kallas suggested that the funds could be allocated for direct procurement of U.S. weapons for Ukraine under a new agreement established last month between the U.S. president and NATO allies.
Kallas reiterated calls from French officials for European nations to pledge security guarantees for Ukraine. “The Americans have been clear that Europe needs to be leading, so that’s what we need to show,” she concluded.
