EU may approve EUR 5B in military aid for Ukraine this year - Borrell

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said this at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday following an offsite meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I proposed a new bilateral multi-annual envelope under the European Peace Facility (EPF), of up to EUR 5 billion for the next year, [and] more will come. I hope that we can reach an agreement before the end of the year when the Member States have to agree on the review of the Multiannual Financial Framework," Borrell said.

He noted that the discussions held today in Kyiv with the participation of European ministers had helped form a better understanding of the security dimension of the situation around Ukraine. This was a central discussion today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"We have been talking about the security commitments that we want to provide to Ukraine, showing our determination to stand by Ukraine in the long term, to deter acts of aggression and resist the destabilization efforts by Russia. You can imagine there are many different aspects under our sustained engagement. [...] We continue training Ukrainian soldiers. The target today is to train 40,000 [soldiers] in the upcoming months, and this includes specialized training for fighter jets' pilots," Borrell said.