Elena Buturlim17:02, 03/18/24

This became possible because Hungary, which was against it, decided to abstain from voting.

The Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union, during a meeting on March 18, made a final decision to allocate an additional 5 billion euros for military support to Ukraine within the framework of the European Peace Fund . This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian soldier is Europe’s only hope for maintaining peace. There should be no restrictions or delays in providing the Ukrainian military with everything they need to break the back of Russian occupation forces on Ukrainian soil,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was present at the meeting.

He also thanked the Czech Republic for its timely initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine and all EU member states that have already made their contributions for its implementation.

According to Polskie Radio, the countries of the European Union have agreed to allocate 5 billion euros for Ukraine’s weapons this year. The decision was made at a meeting in Brussels. This became possible because Hungary, which was against it, decided to abstain from voting.

Now the European Peace Fund has financed compensation to countries that supplied military equipment to Ukraine. Poland also received money from this fund. Now this formula has been slightly changed and, in addition to reimbursement of expenses incurred, money will also be transferred for joint purchases of weapons also outside the EU. Priority is given to military equipment manufactured in the European Union. France insisted on this.

However, the compromise was the decision to allow gun purchases outside the community if that was the only option. Each country’s contribution to this fund will depend on GDP. At Germany’s request, the bilateral military assistance that each European country provides to Ukraine will be taken into account.

“The EU will provide Ukraine with another 5 billion euros of military support. Today, the European Council has created a special Fund for assistance to Ukraine within the European Peace Fund. Thanks to this instrument, the EU will continue to provide defense assistance to our state, including lethal and non-lethal weapons and training of our soldiers,” the minister noted Denis Shmygal.

(C)UNIAN 2024