Brussels, (EFE).- The European Union and its Member States have invested at least 8,000 million euros in military equipment ceded to Ukraine so that it can defend itself against the invasion of Russia, the high community representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, announced on Monday.
“At least $8 billion worth of military equipment has already been provided to Ukraine by the European Union and member states. It is approximately 45% of the effort made by the United States. So it is not insignificant,” Borrell said at a press conference at the end of a Council of EU Foreign Ministers.
Borrell thus made it clear that the contribution of the whole of the EU and its countries exceeds 3,100 million euros from the European Peace Support Fund (FEAP), which have helped finance lethal and non-lethal equipment sent to Ukraine.
The head of community diplomacy explained that he requested data from European military personnel to “make the best estimate” of the effort that the European Union is making, a figure that will also be addressed tomorrow by the EU Defense Ministers during the Council that will be held in Brussels .
At that meeting, Borrell plans to urge the expansion of the FEAP, which has a financial limit of 5,692 million euros at current prices (5,000 million euros at 2018 prices) for the period 2021-2027, with an annual limit of 420 million euros in 2021 to 1,132 million euros in 2027.
It is a financing instrument outside the budget of the Union and in it the countries that wish to contribute according to the gross national income.
In any case, community sources have advanced that it will be necessary to carry out analyzes on the expansion of the fund before the countries reach a decision that is expected for the summit of EU leaders in mid-December.
The defense ministers will also address tomorrow details of the mission to train some 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in European countries such as Poland or Spain, the start of which has been officially supported today by the foreign ministers.
Russian President Vladimir “Putin is incapable of conquering Ukraine. He is still unable to defeat the Ukrainian Army. Putin is withdrawing. The Russian Army has withdrawn to the other side of the Dnieper River, and is trying to make up for this military failure with efforts to increase the human suffering of the Ukrainian people, especially now that winter is approaching,” Borrell stressed.
According to him, the EU is “working with our partners to prepare and replace the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. And this is a huge effort,” she added.
“What Russia wants is to leave the Ukrainians in the dark, in the cold, destroying the country’s electrical system,” Borrell said of “systematic” Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
He also said they will continue to work to hold Russia to account for violations of international law and “war crimes” committed during the invasion of Ukraine.
“Together with the Commission, we are looking at the options available to us to ensure accountability, and the discussion will continue on this. We are working closely with our partners in NATO and around the world,” Borrell said.
Specifically, some Member States have called for the creation of a special court to judge Russia’s responsibilities in this war.
Borrell assured that it is the Ukrainians who must decide, according to their own “parameters”, what “victory means for them”, when asked if this implies the recovery of the territories lost to Russia since 2014 (Crimea and Sebastopol). or only those that it has occupied since the beginning of the war on February 24.
“We are going to let the Ukrainians decide, I think it is quite logical. How are we going to tell them what they have to do, only that we support them”, said Borrell, who recalled that it is the country of the Ukrainians that is destroyed and it is Ukrainians who are dying.
