The foreign ministers of several European Union countries met in kyiv on Monday in a meeting that the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, praised as “historical”. The event ended with the proposing up to 5 billion euros, or about $5.2 billion, in additional aid to Ukraine.
It was a stark contrast to recent events in Washington, where Congress over the weekend passed a short-term funding bill stripped of additional aid for Ukraine to avoid a government shutdown. President Biden has sought to reassure Kiev, saying he hoped Republicans would “keep their word” to take separate steps that would include more aid for Ukraine.
“Under no circumstances can we allow US support for Ukraine to be interrupted. “There are too many lives at stake, too many children, too many people,” Biden said at a Cabinet meeting Monday afternoon. according to CNN.
Here you will find the latest on the war and its knock-on effects around the world.
The Kiev meeting marked the first time that EU foreign ministers met outside EU territory and in a country at war. Borrell saying at a news conference on Monday. “By coming to kyiv, the foreign ministers of the European Union sent a strong message of solidarity and support to Ukraine in the face of this unjust and illegitimate war,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to foreign ministers about Ukraine’s hopes of joining the European Union. “We will implement all recommendations,” Zelensky said, according to an account from the Ukrainian president’s office, referring to seven recommendations Ukraine received for the start of EU membership negotiations. In his late-night speech, Zelensky called Ukraine is “a leader in protecting the very foundations on which European unity rests.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that American lawmakers will support kyiv’s war effort. despite the lack of aid in the US government’s latest short-term funding bill. “We are now working with both sides of Congress to make sure this does not happen again,” he said Monday. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-Calif.) were among Republican leaders who signaled during television interviews that more aid is in the works.
Kharkiv city plans to build Ukraine’s first underground school to protect against missile threats, Mayor Ihor Terekhov saying in Telegram. Kharkiv has already built 60 classrooms inside its metro stations ahead of the school year, Terekhov sayingallowing more than 1,000 children to continue their studies underground.
Poland delivered its first batch of reconditioned Leopard tanks to Ukraine. the Polish Armament Group (PGZ) Announced on social media on Monday. The group, an industrial partner of the Polish Armed Forces, also said it is working on repairing more tanks for kyiv.
At least two people were killed and seven others injured in attacks in the Kherson region, its governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, saying on Telegram early Tuesday morning.
Germany said it provided Ukraine with thousands of additional ammunition and several vehicles. including two mine clearance tanks, 14 tracked all-terrain vehicles and 12 semi-trailers. Denmark also pledged an additional $14 million in ammunition to Ukraine.
Analysis of our correspondents
European officials in kyiv and their Ukrainian counterparts wanted to show the world (and Russia, in particular) that their unity was intact, writes Ishaan Tharoor.