European Union approves more than $500 million in military aid for Ukraine

Europe, News January 25, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Foreign ministers of the European Union countries agreed to provide more military aid to Ukraine accounting for about 500 million euros ($542 million).

The decision comes shortly after the U.S. and other allies increased military support for Ukraine as it braces for an intense attack from Russian forces after winters.

Foreign ministers of 27 European Union states met in Brussels on January 23, 2023, after the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany last week in which the Western allies pledged billions in military aid for Ukraine, however, failed to agree on sending tanks to Ukraine.

The 500 million euros of military aid from the EU countries marks the seventh such tranche of aid. The foreign ministers unanimously approved the 500-million-euro package along with a further 45 million for “non-lethal equipment” for the EU’s military training mission for Ukraine.

The agreement was reached to provide funds to Ukraine from the EU’s European Peace Fund. The EU representatives of Sweden, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that “We remain steadfast in our support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Hungary had shown some opposition to the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine, stating that it could “lead to the prolongation or potential escalation” of the war. However, the Hungarian representatives did not veto the aid package. In December last year, Hungary vetoed an 18-billion-euro package for Ukraine leaving the EU’s other 26 nations scrambling to keep the money supply going.

Ukraine has been urging its western allies for speedier deliveries of heavy weapons and especially tanks to repel Russia’s latest wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities. Ukraine forces are bracing for an expected intense attack from the Russian side soon after the winter ends. Amid Ukraine’s plea for more weapons, the U.S. and other European allies are urging Germany to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukrainian forces.

^{A Ukrainian serviceman looks on and a local resident rides a bicycle while a broken tank is pulled to a truck near the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Donetsk region on January 20, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Oleksandr Ratushniak)}

There are around 2,000 Leopard tanks stocked across over a dozen European countries that can be sent to Ukraine. Poland said that it would ask Germany for permission to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Despite being reluctant to send the tanks itself, Germany has announced that it would not stop its European allies from sending German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine for its war efforts against Russia. Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock announced that it would not stand in way if Poland decides to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The pressure keeps mounting on Germany for speedier deliveries of Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the tanks should not be held up one more day, while Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said Germany, as an “engine of Europe”, had a particular responsibility to help Ukraine. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Russia could win the war if Europeans “don’t help Ukraine with what they need now”.