Header Ads

test

Ukraine’s envoy expects new EU team to expand assistance, engagement

 

Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov. [EC Audiovisual Service/European Union 2022/Xavier Lejeune]

With the European Union’s new leadership soon in place, Ukraine is looking to the bloc’s new team for more assistance and a swifter accession, Kyiv’s envoy to Brussels, Vsevolod Chentsov, told Euractiv.

 Speaking to Euractiv ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday (24 August) as Russia’s war nears its third year, Chentsov said that under the new leadership, Kyiv “anticipates a sustained and expanded engagement in supporting Ukraine.”

“The re-election of [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen and [European Parliament President] Roberta Metsola is particularly encouraging, as both have consistently prioritised support for Ukraine,” Chentsov said.

He added, “There is a common understanding that the next five years will be decisive for the EU’s future as a global actor.”

Future European Council President António Costa and incoming EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas, Chentsov both said they share a strong commitment to the country, giving Ukraine confidence that the EU’s support will persist in all key areas.

“With the formation of the new European Commission in autumn, the appointment of key figures responsible for defence, trade, and EU enlargement will be essential to ensure continued comprehensive cooperation on Ukraine’s path to the EU,” he added.

More assistance, swifter accession

As for the assistance on offer and how much will be provided, Chentsov said Ukraine expects “sustained military assistance, including the provision of defence systems, ammunition, artillery, aircraft and training for our armed forces.”

 

Regarding financial assistance, crucial for stabilising Ukraine’s economy and social infrastructure, they pin hopes on grants and loans provided through the Ukraine Facility and a financial package set to give Kyiv some €50 billion derived from the profits of frozen Russian assets.

Humanitarian support would remain a priority as Russia’s war has displaced millions of people, Kyiv’s envoy said, adding he anticipated increased EU involvement in providing aid to those affected, as well as in rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.

As for enlargement, Chentsov said he expected further steps in his country’s accession talks within the next few months and hopes “enlargement policy will remain one of the key geopolitical priorities of the EU agenda.”

This would include opening negotiations with the so-called ‘fundamentals’ chapter on the judiciary and fundamental rights, possibly under the Polish EU presidency in the first half of 2025.

The decision to do so requires unanimous agreement of all EU27 member states, which allows EU countries to demand more work or potentially delay proceedings.

Western aid dilemma

Despite concerns that continued US support for Ukraine could potentially be endangered if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House, Germany has recently announced it plans to halve its military aid in 2025.

Asked about the uncertainty of whether the EU will be able to fill any potential gap, Chentsov said there was a “shared vision with our partners that helping Ukraine to fight back the Russian aggression is the best investment in European security”.

“In June, Ukraine and the EU signed joint security commitments – it’s essential we implement this agreement, ensuring steady military support continues, regardless of US election outcomes,” he stressed.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the EU’s military assistance has exceeded €39 billion, while nearly 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained under the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM), according to official Ukrainian estimates.

“We hope that the newly established Ukraine Assistance Fund under the European Peace Facility will be the core pillar of this support,” Chentsov said.

Hungary has, however, been blocking reimbursements under the EU fund used for arms procurement for Ukraine for more than a year now.

Asked about Hungary’s increasing willingness to block Ukraine-related EU decisions, Kyiv’s ambassador to Brussels stressed that Ukraine was “doing its best to ensure constructive dialogue with Budapest”.

For that, as part of the EU accession talks, Ukraine “takes all justified concerns seriously” and “hopes [s] to achieve significant progress by the end of this year”.

Kursk as buffer zone

After two and a half years on the defensive against Moscow’s invading forces, Ukraine in August had managed to turn the tables and made military advances into Russian territory in the Kursk Oblast.Asked about the rationale of the incursion, Chentsov said the operation was “part of the overall defence plan of Ukraine to protect border communities in the Sumy region”.

“Since the beginning of this summer, only from the districts of the Kursk region of Russia, more than two thousand attacks have already been made on our communities in the Sumy region, using various weapons — rocket and towed artillery, mortars, missiles, drones, and more,” Chentsov said.

“To protect the lives of Ukrainians and our country, our military established a buffer zone in the Kursk region, now controlling more than 90 settlements – these areas are gradually being cleared of the Russian military presence that once threatened Ukraine,” he added.

As part of the Russian civilian population remained in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s armed forces would provide them with humanitarian assistance and the opportunity to leave through humanitarian corridors, he said.

“One can notice the striking contrast with the Russian soldiers’ behaviour in Ukrainian areas under the Russian occupation back in 2022,” Chentsov said, referring to numerous documented cases of Russian war crimes recorded on Ukrainian soil.

“This defensive operation in the Kursk region wouldn’t be needed if Ukraine could use all partner-supplied weapons for long-range strikes on Russian military targets inside Russia,” Kyiv’s ambassador to Brussels stressed.

Ukraine’s Western partners have previously called on Kyiv to restrict the use of Western-made weapons only for limited purposes if its military launches them to hit targets inside Russian territory.

“[Being able to] destroy their logistics, airfields, and troop formations would eliminate the need for buffer zones,” he added.

With the ongoing cross-border incursion into Russia in August, however, Western partners have less vocally been pressing Kyiv to limit the use of weapons they supplied to the country.


No comments