The West must provide more military aid to Ukraine and speed up its deliveries, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.
“Much more has to be done and much quicker,” Borrell said at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday. “There is still a lot to be done. We have to increase and accelerate our military support.”
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged Western allies to speed up their military aid for Ukraine, warning attendees at the conference on Friday that delays would play into Russia’s hands as the invasion approaches its first anniversary.
Borrell said he supports an Estonian proposal for the EU to buy ammunition on behalf of its members to help Ukraine.
“I completely agree with the Estonian prime minister’s proposal, and we are working on that, and it will work,” Borrell said.
The war in Ukraine has dominated discussions at the Munich conference, an annual gathering of security and defence officials from around the world.
About 40 heads of state and government, other politicians and security experts from almost 100 countries are attending the three-day gathering as fears persist that the fighting in Ukraine could generate a new cold war.
Ukraine depends on Western weapons to thwart Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s ambition to seize large areas of the country. The military aid has become a test of foreign governments’ resolve as its price tag increases.
“There is no alternative to speed because it’s speed that life depends on,” Zelenskyy argued at the conference in Germany.
EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the idea of joint procurement of 155mm artillery shells at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, Reuters news agency reported. —News agencies
