EU aims to coordinate arms shipments to Ukraine

The EU, which proudly self-identifies as a “peace project,” is planning a more assertive wartime role in helping Ukraine face down a massive Russian invasion — by coordinating shipments of weapons, medical supplies and financing to its neighbor under siege, senior EU officials said.

Hours after the German government announced it would provide lethal weapons to Ukraine — a historic shift by a country that had long prohibited sending such arms into conflict zones — EU officials revealed they would soon unveil a program potentially enabling all 27 EU countries to offer similar lethal assistance.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will discuss the plan at a virtual foreign ministers’ meeting Sunday night, according to two diplomats. The proposal will be worked on through the night, another diplomats added.

Such a move would be controversial and risk antagonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who commands a nuclear arsenal and has warned Western countries that interfering with his invasion of Ukraine would lead to “consequences greater than any of you have faced in history.”

But while EU and NATO leaders initially said they had no intention of getting drawn into a military conflict with Russia, outrage and fury has mounted in recent days amid the bombardment of Kyiv, a modern European capital. Video footage has also shown residential apartment towers badly damaged, further enraging EU countries.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed special dismay Saturday night over the deaths of 10 Ukrainian civilians of Greek origin, who he said were killed by Russian airstrikes in the Black Sea port city of Mariupol. “Stop the bombing now,” Mitsotakis demanded.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron used a phone call with the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to warn against a pending decision that would permit Russian to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. Lukashenko has allowed his country to be used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particular the attack on Kyiv. A senior Elysée Palace official said Macron had told Lukashenko to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Borrell’s announcement on the emergency meeting came following consultations with European Council President Charles Michel, who is responsible for convening the EU’s 27 heads of state and government. According to the EU treaties, the bloc is barred from using its normal budget to fund operations with military or defense implications. To circumvent that restriction, EU members have an “off-budget” financing vehicle, ironically called the “European Peace Facility,” that can be used to provide military aid.

Officials familiar with the planning said the general idea is for EU countries to provide lethal weapons following the model Germany set out Saturday, when it decided to send Ukraine 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger anti-aircraft systems from its own stockpile. The European Peace Facility would be used to coordinate shipments and other logistics.

Authorizing the use of the European Peace Facility will require unanimous consent from EU member countries. However, officials said the rules allow for a “constructive abstention,” giving countries that want to maintain military neutrality an opt-out that doesn’t prevent the full bloc from moving ahead.

It’s not a given that EU countries will authorize the bloc to coordinate shipments of lethal weapons. Another diplomat said only that a proposal “to send lethal weapons” is not excluded from the plans. The EU foreign ministers cannot officially finalize the decision Sunday night, either, as they are meeting remotely.

“I am convening a virtual meeting of EU Foreign Ministers tomorrow at 18:00 to adopt further measures in support of Ukraine, against aggression by Russia,” Borrell tweeted Saturday night.

Michel, who has been speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy daily, followed up with his own post, proclaiming: “Democratic Ukraine will prevail.” Early on Saturday, Michel also wrote: “Ukraine and its people are family. Further concrete support is on its way.”

As Russia stepped up its mass mobilization of forces on Ukraine’s borders, culminating with Putin’s effective declaration of war on Monday, Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials have chided Western partners for not doing more. Zelenskiy on Saturday even called on the EU to give assurances that Ukraine would one day be able to join the bloc.  

According to one diplomat, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has already asked his EU counterparts for specific types of military assistance, including the blocking of a Russian satellite navigation system and the jamming of Russian communications throughout Ukraine and the seas bordering it to the south.

Numerous EU countries have also been trying to speed weapons and other support to Ukraine as the country faces a multi-pronged invasion by land, air and sea. The Netherlands, for instance, said it would send Stingers, as well rocket-propelled grenade launchers after security permission from Berlin — authorization needed because the launchers were made by a German company.