EU pledges more Ukraine support at Ireland defence meet

EU pledges continued support for Ukraine at Ireland meeting

Wicklow, Sep 2

"The EU continues to provide strong support to Ukraine through the Ukraine Support Loan," said Kallas at the press conference after the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Defence, adding that the EU has already disbursed 8.37 billion euros (9.7 billion US dollars) in defence support for Ukraine and "with more to come."

On the future of the EU's Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), Irish Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said Ireland would provide 10 million euros (11.6 million dollars) to the mission as part of a wider 125-million-euro (145-million-dollar) package for Ukraine announced by Ireland in July, reports Xinhua news agency.

Held in Wicklow on Monday and Tuesday, the informal meeting was part of Ireland's current presidency of the Council of the EU. The gathering brought together defence ministers for strategic discussions rather than formal decision-making.

The agenda included continued EU support for Ukraine, space and maritime security, and the situation in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that Russian forces had seized the settlements of Chervonaya Krinitsa and Novopavlovka in the Zaporizhzhia region and intercepted 1,050 Ukrainian drones within 24 hours on the front line.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi announced Tuesday that the government mulled tightening budget spending amid high defence needs.

"The government is introducing a strict austerity regime for budget funds not allocated for defence needs," Koretskyi told the parliament.

The cabinet had identified 70 billion hryvnias (about 1.57 billion US dollars) in savings that would be fully redirected to defence, he said.

In June, the parliament amended the 2026 budget, increasing the security and defence spending to 4.4 trillion hryvnias (about 98.8 billion dollars), local media reported.

— IANS