EU to allocate billions of euros for Ukraine's defense: ministers' decision in Copenhagen.

According to FREEДOM:

Results of the meeting in Copenhagen

Today, August 29, a two-day meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of European Union countries began in Copenhagen. The main topic of discussion was the situation in Ukraine. Such gatherings are held twice a year, and their informal format allows participants to openly discuss strategic directions of EU foreign policy. Details of the meeting were shared by special correspondent of the FREEДОМ channel in Europe, Vitaliy Sizov.

Discussion of military support for Ukraine

The defense ministers of EU countries focused on issues of military support and security guarantees for Ukraine. Since the meeting took place in an informal format, no official decisions were made, but key directions for further work were outlined. Support for the initiative to provide assistance to Ukraine through NATO is growing, which includes funding for the procurement of American weapons for Ukraine through the Alliance.

“Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine. We will maintain support for Ukraine at least at the level of 0.25% of GDP; currently, we are at around 0.3% of GDP. Lithuania joins the PURL format, within which a priority list of armaments for Ukraine has been established, to which we will allocate up to 30 million euros. Given the current change in government, this work will conclude within a few weeks, after which the process will begin. Lithuania also plans to contribute to the procurement of Patriot systems for Ukraine,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas.

Belgium will also allocate 100 million euros to support Ukraine through NATO. The defense minister of this country did not rule out that in the future, Belgian troops may be sent to Ukraine to maintain peace.

“We are going to support Ukraine with another 100 million within the PURL framework. This is a decision of the Belgian government, made this week. In the rest, we will continue to support Ukraine with all available means. F-16 fighter jets will be delivered as soon as possible. I think we are very committed to further involvement in the coalition of willing states. We can help in many areas: navy, we can assist with air forces. We will help within the 'coalition of the willing'. And we will assist Ukraine when a ceasefire is achieved. And I hope that a ceasefire will be reached as soon as possible, but I remain skeptical. We'll see what happens with troop deployments, but for Belgium, everything is possible,” commented Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken.

Main priorities for Ukraine

The Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, joined the meeting via video link. He voiced the main priorities for Ukraine in ensuring reliable security guarantees.

“I urged partners to do everything together with Ukraine to end the war and achieve lasting peace. We must accelerate work on real security guarantees, including within the 'coalition of the willing'. I highlighted five priorities: equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine; supplying weapons through the PURL mechanism; creating an effective architecture of future security guarantees for Ukraine, where each partner country must make its clear contribution; training Ukrainian military personnel; a defense-industrial integration,” wrote the head of Ukraine's defense agency on social media.

Conclusions of the first day of the meeting

The main outcomes of the first day of the meeting were summarized by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. He noted that support for the idea of sending military instructors to Ukraine after a ceasefire is growing among EU countries. Borrell called for increasing pressure on Russia to achieve a stable peace.

“In recent weeks, we have seen diplomatic efforts to end the war unleashed by Russia. And it is obvious that Europe wants peace. America wants peace. Ukraine wants peace. Who does not want peace — is Russia. This is evident, as Russia responds to these peace attempts with missile strikes. The attack on Kyiv on Wednesday shows how deliberate Russia's decision is to escalate the conflict while simultaneously mocking peaceful efforts,” said the head of European diplomacy.

Participants also discussed the Danish model of financing Ukraine's defense industry. This year, Denmark plans to spend 1.4 billion euros on investments in Ukrainian defense companies.

Tomorrow, discussions will continue in Copenhagen at the level of foreign ministers. Among the topics are Russian aggression against Ukraine and the use of frozen Russian assets. The European Union is discussing the possibility of more actively using these assets to support Ukraine.

Let us remind you that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined three key blocks of security guarantees for Ukraine: strengthening the Ukrainian army, international cooperation with partners, and sanctions pressure on Russia.