The foreign minister of an EU member state has warned the bloc is facing a “critical juncture” when it comes to supporting Ukraine.
The European Union marked a special first today by holding a first-ever meeting of its 27 foreign ministers outside of the bloc’s border.
The surprise summit featured an optimistic outlook for the future EU membership of Ukraine.
But it also saw one of the foreign ministers in attendance, Lithuania’s Gabrielius Landsbergis, ringing alarm bells in light of two international events linked to the military aid that has been sent for months by Western countries to Kyiv to face Russian troops.
On Saturday, members of the US Congress decided not to include a billions-worth aid request for Ukraine in a deal that prevented a new federal shutdown.
During the same day, voters in EU member state Slovakia elected Robert Fico, the former Prime Minister who during his electoral campaign made a series of anti-Ukraine pledges.
Among them, Mr Fico, who had to step down from office in 2018 in the midst of a popular uprising linked to the killing of a journalist and his girlfriend, promised his voters to stop sending military aid to Kyiv and bar its accession to NATO.
Similar events, Mr Landsbergis warned, have the potential to cast a shadow on the EU’s backing for Ukraine.
The minister continued, as quoted by the CNN: “Many messages that have been sent from Brussels or Washington or elsewhere, have the power to instil doubt, about whether we are serious.
“And I hope that today’s meeting can fix this, and can send a very clear, crystal clear message that Europe is with Ukraine until this victory.”
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quick to try and capitalise on the events of the weekend, as he told reporters on Monday that Western fatigue over the war in Ukraine is set to increase.
He claimed: “Fatigue from this conflict, fatigue from the completely absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime, will grow in various countries, including the United States.”
Nevertheless, he continued, the US will “continue its involvement in this conflict, in fact, direct involvement”.
Today’s summit in Kyiv aimed at showcasing the bloc’s support for Ukraine as well as discussing the future of the country as a possible member.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the ministers’ meeting “within future borders” of the EU as he wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Glad to welcome EU foreign ministers at the historic meeting in Ukraine. For the first time in history, outside current EU borders. But also within its future borders.”
