Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for a previously scheduled visit, where he will reaffirm Europe’s ongoing support for Ukraine as Russia continues its attacks across the country.
“EU support for Ukraine has been my personal priority throughout my mandate, and it will remain at the top of the EU’s agenda,” Borrell wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He made this statement just hours after the Russian military launched another attack on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, damaging buildings and residential homes in Odesa.
Borrell is said to be the highest-ranking EU official to visit Ukraine since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on November 5.
“The message is clear: Europeans will continue to support Ukraine,” Borrell told an AFP reporter accompanying him.
“We have supported Ukraine from the very beginning, and in this latest visit to Ukraine, I send the same message: We will support you as long as we can,” said Borrell, who is set to leave his position next month.
Trump’s victory in the election has raised concerns in Kyiv. Trump had stated during the campaign that he could quickly resolve Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, even before being inaugurated on January 20. He suggested that Kyiv should agree to cede some territories to Moscow in exchange for peace— a condition that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected.
“Nobody knows exactly what the new administration will do,” Borrell said to AFP, noting that Joe Biden still has two months left in office as U.S. president.
“But we Europeans must seize this opportunity to build a stronger and more united Europe, and one of the manifestations of being united and capable of acting is our role in supporting Ukraine,” he emphasized, according to REL.
Borrell said it is up to the EU member states to decide “when and how to increase” their support, if necessary. However, he added that at a meeting of EU leaders in Budapest on November 8, “the majority of member states insisted on continuing the same line of support for Ukraine.”
