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Published 06:04 IST, May 18th 2022

EU will continue to support Ukraine with weapons, military equipment, says Josep Borrell

On Tuesday, European Union's Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell stated that the EU will not allow Ukraine to run out of weapons and military equipment.

Reported by: Rohit Ranjan
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The European Union will not allow Ukraine to run out of weapons and military weapons in the midst of a war with Russia, asserted European Union's Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell at a press conference after a meeting of the EU Defence Council. As per TASS, he stated that the war has reached a critical stage and they can't let Ukraine's military equipment and weaponry run out. He claimed that the EU countries presently have adequate resources to continue sending weapons to Ukraine without interruption.

Borrell went on to say that the EU has the resources to ensure that the supply of military equipment and weapons remains uninterrupted as long as necessary, reiterating Ukraine's aim for military triumph. He also said that EU foreign ministers agreed to another €500 million from the European Peace Fund for weaponry shipments to Ukraine on Monday, increasing the total amount committed for these objectives to €2 billion.

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Following the meeting, he informed that the leaders of the EU Defense Ministry discussed the needs of the Ukrainian army in the sphere of defence with the Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who discussed the situation and the requirements of his country's troops, according to media reports.

The EU diplomat further mentioned that the EU, US, and the UK have established a separate collaborative team to assist in the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said that the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor's Office has already dispatched a team of 42 investigators to Ukraine to assist national authorities. After receiving appropriate applications from over 40 countries, the ICC Prosecutor's Office opened an inquiry into suspected crimes committed on Ukrainian territory in early March.

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Borrell also expressed support for Finland & Sweden's NATO membership

Borrell expressed support for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications, expressing hope that the alliance would be able to overcome Turkey's objections. He claimed that the two countries will get strong support from all member states because it strengthens the unity and makes them stronger. While most NATO members want to welcome the two countries as soon as possible, Turkey has said it will not allow them to join the alliance.

Image: AP

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06:04 IST, May 18th 2022