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- EU presents multi-million dollar plan to supply munitions to Ukraine
- Zelenskyj: The counter-offensive is not going fast, but we are making progress
EU presents multi-million dollar plan to supply munitions to Ukraine
Representatives of EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed on a plan to increase supplies of munitions and missiles to Ukraine, the Spanish EU presidency has announced.
According to the plan of the European Commission, the production capacity of the European defense industry is to be expanded rapidly with the help of financial support. The funding of EUR 500 million comes from the common budget.
“This is another proof of the EU’s firm commitment to support Ukraine,” said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
The plan would also strengthen the EU’s defense technology and industrial base, ultimately ensuring the security and defense of European citizens for an extended period of time, he added in a statement.
Zelenskyj: The counter-offensive is not going fast, but we are making progress
The Ukrainian counteroffensive “is not going fast, but we are making progress,” Zelenskyj said on Thursday. During a press conference with his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel, Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces “are not retreating like the Russians”. “Now we have the initiative,” Zelensky said.
Zelenski is visiting NATO member states ahead of a NATO summit next week. Ukraine hopes for NATO’s promises of future membership and continued support as long as the war lasts. The NATO summit must lead to concrete decisions, Zelensky said. “We need honesty in our relations with NATO,” the Ukrainian president said.
“It is in the Czech Republic’s interest that talks on Ukraine joining NATO take place once the war is over,” Pavel said. He stressed that Ukraine can continue to count on Czech support. Pavel said he sees no solution to the war other than a Ukrainian victory. The Czech president added that next week’s NATO summit should discuss cooperation with Ukraine until the country is still a member.
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