European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stressed on Thursday that Europe cannot replace American support for Ukraine, while the political crisis in Washington calls into question the continuation of American aid, AFP and Agerpres reported.

The infighting in Washington, which has called into question continued support for Ukraine, is “bad news,” Borrell said, expressing hope that this is not yet the final US position, Reuters news agency also noted.

“It is clear that Europe cannot replace the United States,” Borrell said after arriving at a summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada (southern Spain), a forum designed to promote cooperation between nearly 50 countries established after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In this context, he noted that the EU is studying the possibility of creating a fund worth 20 billion euros over four years to continue supporting the Ukrainian army.

European leaders hope that the US will not give up military support to Ukraine

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said on Thursday that she was “very confident” that the US would continue to support Ukraine, despite infighting among Republicans over the issue, raising concerns about continued aid.

European leaders meeting in Granada are expected to assure Zelenskyi, who is attending the CPE summit, of long-term support after US President Joe Biden expressed concern that infighting among Republicans in Congress could affect US policy on continuing aid provided Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyi and Spain’s Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday discussed sending a new package of military support to Ukraine, consisting of air defense systems, means of combating drones and artillery, EFE reports.

“We discussed a new package of military support, which will include additional air defense systems, artillery and anti-drone systems,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram account after a bilateral meeting with Sanchez on the sidelines of the Granada summit.

Zelensky demands equipment to prepare for a new winter Russian attack

According to the Ukrainian president, the two leaders also discussed sending energy equipment to Ukraine ahead of winter, when Kyiv fears a new Russian bombing of its power grid.

Another topic of discussion at the meeting, which also discussed Ukraine’s European integration aspirations, was the protection of the export corridor opened by Ukraine for the export of grain in the Black Sea, despite Russia’s naval blockade.

“We are preparing the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU under the presidency of Spain,” wrote Zelenskyi, who hopes that the EU countries will give the green light to the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine by the end of this year. year.

The President of Ukraine thanked Spain, which has been chairing the Council of the European Union since July, for its support on the way to joining the EU and strengthening the country’s resistance to Russian military aggression.