EU Diplomat’s Initiative for Ukraine Military Aid Meets Resistance
A high-ranking EU diplomat was quoted by Politico as saying that the credibility of EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, was hit by the blockade of the proposal for up to 40 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine. The diplomat stated that, if unity is to be preserved, important initiatives should be prepared in the spirit of unity and should have been discussed.
Three European diplomats clarified that the main mistake of Kallas was the lack of support for her plan from France and officials like the advisor to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Björn Seibert. A central European diplomat mentioned, “She still behaves like a prime minister, she has not grasped that she now has a different job.”
The problems had existed from the start and now the process of approving military aid is “spoiled”, according to the diplomats in the news magazine.
Kallas initially proposed buying at least 1.5 million artillery shells for Ukraine until 2025, but Hungary vetoed it. Then, she suggested that a coalition of willing states search their weapon depots and provide up to 40 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine. However, last week, this initiative was not supported by France and Italy.
Kallas then demanded sending five billion euros to Kiev to buy two million grenades. She claimed, “This amount of ammunition is available on the market and can be delivered by 2025.”
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported her demand. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the final version of the plan only required five billion euros for the purchase of large-caliber ammunition. However, the initiative was blocked, among others, by France and Italy, as reported by Bloomberg. Paris, Rome and Bratislava pointed out that EU member states should only contribute to supporting Kiev on a “voluntary basis”.
After a meeting of EU state and government leaders on March 20 in Brussels, the ambitions of the plan were significantly reduced, as reported by Politico. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a summit on Ukraine in Paris on March 27, to which Zelenskyy will attend.
Moscow condemns any Western support for Kiev, as it believes that the aid will only prolong the conflict and have no impact on its outcome.