EU countries to send ‘fighter jets’ to Ukraine: Josep Borrell

The EU also said on Sunday that it would finance the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, an unprecedented step for the bloc.

Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell at the European Commission in Brussels on Sunday. Picture: AFP

EU countries will send “fighter jets” to Ukraine at Kyiv’s request to help it counter the Russian air and land assault, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday.

“We’re going to provide even fighting jets,” he told a Brussels press conference. “We’re not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had told the EU “they need the kind of fighting jets that the Ukrainian army is able to operate … some member states have these kinds of planes”, Mr Borrell said.

EU, an organisation born of the dream of peaceful reconciliation and economic integration among its members, said on Sunday that it would finance the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, an unprecedented step for the bloc.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking alongside Mr Borrell, called the decision “a watershed moment”. The EU also added to its sanctions on Russia by banning the country’s planes and banning Russian state media outlets broadcasting in the bloc.

“Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane – and that includes the private jets of oligarchs,” Ms von der Leyen said.

AFP