IRIA News

Top diplomats from the 27 European Union countries arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 2, 2023, to hold an unannounced summit. The delegation was led by the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

The unprecedented gathering was not publicly announced in advance due to security concerns. It was the first time that the top diplomats from the European Union states commenced a meeting outside of the EU nation.

The officials addressed Ukraine’s accession to the EU, military support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia, and tightened sanctions against Moscow during the meeting.

“We are convening a historic meeting of EU Foreign Ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU,” delegation leaders and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borell in a tweet.

In a joint press conference with Borrell, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the EU officials. Kuleba said that the fact that the EU foreign ministers are meeting in Kyiv “is a message of the unfettered support that the European Union is extending for Ukraine.”

I met with @JosepBorrellF.

I appreciate the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv that proved unity in support for Ukraine.

Continued EU military aid for Ukraine is important, both immediate and long-term, as well as financial assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia. pic.twitter.com/ZKEffK4kWp

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 2, 2023

The summit of the EU’s top diplomats was an informal session of the Foreign Affairs Council that convenes at least once per month to define and implement the EU’s foreign and security policy.

Borrell highlighted that the meeting in Ukraine’s capital was rather a symbolic expression. The summit did not seek to reach concrete conclusions but instead laid grounds for an informal “brainstorming” between the EU and Kyiv to discuss Europe’s present and future support.

Preparing for Winter

The meeting focused on discussing the possibilities of defending Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, especially as the winter season arrives in Ukraine. The foreign ministers expressed their concerns about Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy-supplying infrastructure and vowed to increase the provision of air defense systems to protect them.

“Last winter, we saw the brutal way in which the Russian president is waging this war,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. “We must prevent this together with everything we have, as far as possible.”

War fatigue

The meeting also addressed the rising issue of war fatigue that is settling in and resulted in depleting funding from the Western allies. With Washington falling deeper into a financial crisis, several observers and analysts believe that Kyiv would face difficulties in gathering support to fund its war against the Russian invasion in the coming few months.

Some Western politicians, as well as other world leaders, have started to criticize the unprecedented amount of money that is being spent on the Russia-Ukraine war in the form of arms and weapons.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the North American leaders for their “irrational” military aid to Ukraine and urged Washington to devote more resources to helping Latin American countries.

The narrative has become more prevalent in several Western countries and has started to affect the local elections and the formation of leadership. Slovakia’s pro-Russian former Prime Minister Robert Fico won the elections by using the same argument during his campaign.

Slovakia is a NATO member state that borders Ukraine. It has taken in thousands of Ukrainian refugees and provided crucial weapons supply to Ukraine since the start of the conflict, however, the reelection of Fico is expected to bring down its support for Kyiv.  

The United States is also going into an election next year where former president Donald Trump is leading the Republican field in his bid to return to the White House. With upcoming elections in Washington, several right-wing Donald Trump supporters in Congress have called for a halt to Ukraine aid.