Borrell urges increased military support for Ukraine
He made this statement in Kyiv during a joint press conference with Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, as reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.
“We have to do more and faster. More military support, more training capacities, more money, faster supplies, and also the permission to strike the enemy’s military targets on its territory. It's not enough to stop the arrows, you have to attack the archers,” Borrell stated.
Meanwhile, Sybiha noted that the parties had a detailed discussion on the battlefield situation and the involvement of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. He expressed hope for strong EU decisions in response to this “unacceptable escalation” of the war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian foreign minister also stressed the need to lift any restrictions on the use of long-range weapons and strikes on military targets within Russian territory, and to continue building a multi-layered air defense system, which should include the capabilities of neighboring partner countries.
Overall, according to Ukraine's top diplomat, today’s talks were "extremely productive on the most crucial issues." The discussions covered military support, strengthening resilience ahead of winter, advancing the Peace Formula, and the Victory Plan. "We exchanged views on the outcome of the U.S. elections and agreed on the need to strengthen support for Ukraine,” he added.
Sybiha also thanked the EU and its member states for their continuous military support, which has already exceeded EUR 44 billion.
According to him, Ukraine expects the European Union to continue providing military assistance through the European Peace Facility and the Ukraine Assistance Fund, to supply artillery munitions, and to use frozen Russian assets for defense needs. It also expects the EU to continue training Ukrainian soldiers under its mission, mobilize resources for demining, jointly produce weapons, and support cooperation between defense industries.
As reported by Ukrinform, High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell arrived in Kyiv on November 9.
