EU High Representative Josep Borrell has announced plans to provide up to €5 billion a year for the next four years for Ukraine’s defence needs, by creating a dedicated section under the European Peace Facility.

The initiative was introduced at the European Union Council in Brussels on 20 July, as a way to secure more sustainable and predictable financing for defence support to Ukraine.

The Council was briefed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba on the latest developments on the ground and Ukraine’s military needs, and confirmed the EU’s resolve to continue supporting the legitimate defence of Ukraine against the aggressor, also in light of the recent attacks on Ukrainian ports and grain storages.

The Council also touched on the termination of the Black Sea Grain initiative by Russia. Ahead of the Council meeting, Borrell said that more than 60,000 tonnes of grain had been burned as a result of Russian bombing raids on port infrastructure in Odesa and other coastal cities, as well as grain storage facilities. 

He called recent Russian strikes “a barbarian attitude”, adding after the meeting that “Putin is using hunger as a weapon – even against people in countries that still hesitate to condemn his illegal bloodshed in Ukraine.” 

You can read more on Russia’s false narratives around its withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in a commentary on the EUvsDisinfo website, a flagship project of the European External Action Service.

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Press releaseCommentary on EUvsDisinfo website a on Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative