BRUSELAS, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Member States of the European Union have approved this Monday a new batch of 500 million euros to finance the shipment of military material to Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion, in the sixth tranche of aid since the conflict began, which raises the total amount to 3,000 million.
These funds are mobilized through the European Peace Mechanism, the tool with which the EU finances its defense policy and which is being used for the first time to send weapons to a country at war. With this step, the bloc intensifies its support for Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity and allows kyiv to protect the civilian population from Russian aggression.
As in previous installments, the funds will be used to respond to Ukraine’s military needs on the ground, after it has called for reinforcements of its anti-aircraft defenses against Russian bombing. Of this new item, 490 million euros will go to lethal equipment and another 10 million to provide protection material, supplies and oil. The funds also cover the cost of maintenance and repair of the material donated in recent months.
As the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has defended, this decision is “another proof” of the “firm support” for the Ukrainian armed forces to defend the country against the Russian escalation.
“Russia’s latest indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are further proof of Russia’s utter disrespect for human rights and international law. The EU will continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes and for as long as it takes,” Borrell has pointed out, linking this step to the wave of attacks against civilians in kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.