RT.com
24 Jan 2023, 02:47 GMT+10
The bloc's foreign ministers agreed to give Kiev nearly $550 million worth of weapons
EU foreign ministers approved a fresh tranche of military aid to Ukraine on Monday, Swedish officials have said. The arms bonanza is worth $542 million, but does not include the German tanks that Kiev and its allies have their hopes pinned on.
The bloc's 27 foreign ministers agreed on the €500 million ($542 million) package following discussions in Brussels. Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, announced the agreement on Twitter, stating: "We remain steadfast in our support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces."
Money for the weapons will be drawn from the 'European Peace Facility', a fund that the bloc uses to finance foreign militaries. Ukraine has already received €3.1 billion ($3.36 billion) from this fund, with the aid doled out in seven successive packages since the beginning of Russia's military operation last February.
This supply of arms to Ukraine represented an about-turn from the EU's long-standing policy of not purchasing arms for use in foreign wars. Before last February, the 'Peace Facility' had only been used to supply non-lethal equipment to Georgia, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, and Ukraine, for a total of less than $125 million.
To date, the US has underwritten most of Ukraine's expenses, allocating more than $110 billion to the country's economy and military since the conflict began and supplying progressively heavier and more powerful armaments. However, Washington refuses to donate its M1 Abrams main battle tanks, leaving Ukrainian officials and their most fervent European supporters - predominantly the Baltic and Eastern European states - to press Germany into filling that role.
Kiev has repeatedly requested that Germany supply its military with Leopard 2 tanks, and allow other European users of the Leopard to donate their fleets. Berlin has not yet made an official decision on sending its own Leopards, but Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday that her government would not block Poland from sending its stock of the tanks to Ukraine.
Russia has warned that Western arms deliveries will only prolong the conflict, while making Western nations de-facto participants. Should Germany give in and send its tanks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that they "can burn and they will burn like the rest [of the Western weapons]."
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Shanghai Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Shanghai Sun.
More InformationMADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan, long associated with war and instability, is quietly trying to rebrand itself as a destination for...
(Photo credit: Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Corey Heim's victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series'...
(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) Jimmie Johnson's Legacy Motor Club has shown incredible improvement in 2025, and it would...
(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski in Turn 1 on the final lap and won a wild, wreck-filled...
(Photo credit: Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) HAMPTON, Ga. -- Joey Logano led an armada of Fords into the top...