EU discusses Russian aggression against Ukraine

The Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg discussed on Monday the Russian aggression against Ukraine in a joint session gathering both EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs and EU Ministers of Defense. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, and the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov joined the beginning of the meeting via video conference and provided updates on the latest developments on the ground and Ukraine's current priorities. The two Ukrainian ministers said, "in addition to missiles and drones, Ukrainians have reported 7000 guided bombs fired by Russia in 4 months of this year, which is about 60 guided bombs a day, and there is constant shelling in the East, this is part of Putin's strategy." On the other hand, the ministers added, "it is clear that Ukraine lacks weapons for self-defense and to reject Russia's aggression." "There is a clear sense of urgency for the European Union and all Ukrainian allies to act, the ministers noted. "The most important way of acting is provid ing air defense batteries and ammunition for these batteries," the ministers said. Meanwhile, Josep Borrell, High Representative for EU Foreign Affairs underlined the importance of providing air defense systems and missiles to Ukraine and proposed to coordinate the urgent delivery of these items at EU level. During the ministerial discussion, several member states showed their readiness to consider specific assistance or to contribute to existing initiatives such as the Czech one on ammunition, or the German one on air defense. Source: Kuwait News Agency