Preparations for the trip began in the midst of the greatest secrecy weeks ago, but when, finally, the political representatives of the Twenty-seven landed yesterday in Kyiv, the visit and the message that European support for Ukraine would not waver, and would remain pass What happens on the battlefield, could not seem more timely or necessary.
“We are here to express our solidarity and our support for the Ukrainian people,” declared the head of community diplomacy, Josep Borrell, after getting off the train in the Ukrainian capital, where he unexpectedly summoned the EU foreign ministers to hold a meeting. historic meeting. It was the first that they celebrated outside the community territory, in a candidate country and, furthermore, at war. And his arrival in the country also coincided with the appearance of some signs of fatigue in Western support for Ukraine.
Just a few hours before the symbolic European visit to Kyiv, the victory of the pro-Russian populist Robert Fico in the elections in Slovakia set off all the alarms in Brussels over the possibility that Viktor Orbán’s Hungary would find an ally in its opposition to the support of the European Union to Ukraine. In parallel, on the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States, Ukraine became the collateral victim of the budget negotiations between the Republicans, the most radical wing of this party, and the Democrats to avoid the closure of the Administration in extremis: the agreement It was only possible by dispensing with the allocation of 6 billion dollars that was intended for military aid to this country, a policy that is increasingly questioned in Donald Trump’s party.
Both Borrell and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitró Kuleba, were convinced that these latest events do not denote changes in Western support for the country. “The EU remains united, I do not see any member state wavering in its commitment to support Ukraine,” replied Borrell when asked about possible changes in European foreign policy, given that many decisions can only be made unanimously. “We don’t have the feeling that American support has been broken,” Kuleba said of the US Congress’ decision on his country, which he attributed to an “incident,” not a “systemic” problem.
“USA. understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian minister. Brussels and Kyiv trust that Washington will approve a decision in the coming days that will allow aid to Ukraine to resume. But, “even if it can be rectified, it shows how difficult the discussion is,” declared the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Arriving on a night train in Kyiv, the European foreign ministers reiterated their messages of the “durable” and “sustained” support that Europe will give to the Ukrainian people. “Today we were all around the table, the Twenty-Seven, and no one has disagreed, we have all agreed that we have to continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary,” said the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. “Russia should not count on the fatigue” of Europeans, stressed her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna.
All countries – except Latvia, immersed in government formation negotiations, and Hungary, for obvious reasons – sent their ministers to the Ukrainian capital, where they were received by President Volodymyr Zelensky amid tight security measures. Before traveling to Kyiv, Borrell visited Odessa, one of the cities currently hardest hit by the Russian army. Minutes after leaving, a shower of drones fell on the region. “Your missiles and drones do not intimidate us. “We remain determined to support Ukraine,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy.
The meeting was not called to make decisions, but to see first-hand the situation in the country, better understand its needs and reaffirm the EU’s promise that it will support the country for as long as it takes. Both the sending of military material to Kyiv and the budget support are part of the “security commitments” that the EU wants to give to Ukraine. But “the strongest security commitment we can give them is accession to the EU,” stressed Borrell, convinced that this is where the country is heading. It is the promise that Ukraine clings to. Yesterday’s meeting of European ministers took place “outside the current borders of the EU”, but “within its future borders”, Minister Kuleba stressed on several occasions.
