Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has urged the West to provide more military aid to Ukraine and speed up its deliveries. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, Borrell said “much more has to be done and much quicker” in order to help Ukraine. His comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned attendees of the conference that delays in military aid would play into Russia’s hands as the invasion approaches its first anniversary.
Borrell also expressed his support for an Estonian proposal for the EU to buy ammunition on behalf of its members to help Ukraine. He said he “completely agrees with the Estonian prime minister’s proposal” and that “we are working on that, and it will work.” The war in Ukraine has been a major topic of discussion at the Munich conference, a yearly gathering of security and defence officials from around the world.
EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the idea of joint procurement of 155mm artillery shells at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Such an approach would be more efficient than EU members placing individual orders, and larger orders would also help the defence industry invest in extra capacity.
Meanwhile, Russia has accused the United States of trying to “demonise” and foment the crisis in Ukraine with allegations of Russian crimes against humanity. Washington has formally concluded that Russia has committed “crimes against humanity” during its invasion of Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday. In response, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said such insinuations are an attempt to “fuel the Ukrainian crisis.”
Organisations supported by the US Agency for International Development have documented more than 30,000 war crime incidents since the invasion, according to the US government. Ukrainian officials have also launched an investigation into Thursday’s shelling of the eastern city of Bakhmut. The UN-backed Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has identified war crimes but has not concluded whether they amount to crimes against humanity. It is clear that more must be done to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression, and Borrell’s support for the Estonian proposal is a step in the right direction.