Politico: EU draws up plan for Ukraine security guarantees

The European Union's diplomatic service has prepared a draft plan to provide Ukraine with long-term security commitments, Politico reported on July 11.

The document, obtained by Politico, includes recommendations to ensure a "sustained" supply of weapons to Ukraine, continue military training, share intelligence, and help Kyiv to establish ties with European defense companies.

According to the plan, EU officials will soon launch a special fund to finance the reimbursement of the bloc members for sending Ukraine their weapons. The document called the fund that would operate until 2027 "a core element of [the] EU's security commitment to Ukraine in the short to longer term."

So far, the EU has paid back the countries for their arms donations through the European Peace Facility (EPF). On June 26, the bloc allocated another 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to the fund, bringing its total to $13 billion.

In 2023, Brussels will spend 4 billion euros from the EPF alone to cover military aid to Ukraine, the document reportedly says.

"The more we can talk about long-term engagements, the more we can send Putin the message that he cannot count on European fatigue due to elections or whatever other reason," said an unnamed EU diplomat, as cited by Politico.

The draft plan follows the EU's June 29 statement pledging to swiftly consider approaches to long-term security commitments for Ukraine.

Kyiv has said that the best security guarantee for it would be to become a full-fledged NATO member after Russia's war ends.

Poll: Most Ukrainians not ready to refuse NATO accession in exchange for immediate peace

Seventy-six percent of Ukrainians consider it unacceptable for the country to withhold its NATO membership bid “as a price for peace,” according to recent polls conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova