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Nearly all of the European Union\u2019s highest diplomats met in Ukraine\u2019s battered wartime capital on Monday, convening a surprise summit to reassert the bloc\u2019s commitment to Ukraine against Russia\u2019s invasion and to rebut concerns that some countries\u2019 support might be waning.<\/p>\n
The foreign ministers came from 23 of the European Union\u2019s 27 members, and were joined by representatives from the four remaining countries, Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Sweden. The bloc\u2019s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said the meeting, which was unusual for being held outside the European Union\u2019s borders, was a signal of the bloc\u2019s unflagging support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis meeting,\u201d Mr. Borrell told reporters in Kyiv, \u201cshould be understood as a clear commitment of the European Union to Ukraine and its continuous support in all dimensions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine <\/span>roused the European Union into an run of unified action that was extraordinary for the often fractious bloc. Over 18 months, the nations imposed 11 rounds of economic sanctions on Russia, provided training for the Ukrainian military and, for the first time in the bloc\u2019s history, gave funding for lethal weapons among its billions of euros in support.<\/p>\n Addressing the foreign ministers, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine acknowledged<\/a> that his country relies heavily on aid from abroad. He said that Ukraine would prevail against Russia, but that \u201cour victory explicitly depends on our cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n He later said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the meeting had \u201cproved unity in support for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n But the West\u2019s sustained backing for Ukraine has not come without strains, as member nations have struggled to reckon with the war\u2019s economic consequences and to maintain political unity at home. In Slovakia, a Russia-friendly party, whose leader vowed \u201cnot to send a single cartridge\u201d of ammunition to Ukraine, won in a national election<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n In Poland, the government is embroiled in a dispute with Ukraine over grain exports, and the ruling party, facing a knife-edge vote later this month, is trying to reassure voters it will not put Ukraine\u2019s interests above those of Polish citizens. Poland said last month that it would not send any additional weapons<\/a> once it fulfills its current commitments.<\/p>\n Even in the United States, the E.U. ally that has sent the most aid to Ukraine, Congress passed a stopgap government funding bill over the weekend without more aid for Ukraine<\/a>, after some Republicans contested its inclusion.<\/p>\n Mr. Borrell on Monday said that E.U. diplomats were keen to keep Ukraine\u2019s backers unified, including in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it\u2019s not being seen like this for everybody around the world, but for us Europeans, it\u2019s an existential threat,\u201d he said of Russian aggression. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why we have to continue supporting Ukraine, and discussing with our American allies and friends, for them, too, to continue supporting.\u201d<\/p>\n The timing of continued aid could prove important for Kyiv, which is facing difficult months ahead: It is waging a grueling counteroffensive<\/a> to retake land in its south and east, and defending against long-range Russian shelling near and far from the front.<\/p>\n A Russian bombardment in the eastern Kherson region killed at least one person and injured six others, including two children, local officials said on Monday. Russian forces fired nearly 400 shells into Ukrainian-controlled areas of the region, damaging buildings including a kindergarten, a church and an ambulance station, a local Ukrainian military official, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother difficult night and morning for the Kherson region,\u201d Mr. Prokudin said<\/a>. \u201cThe enemy covers the peaceful settlements of the region with fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Though E.U. members have taken extraordinary steps to help Ukraine on the battlefield \u2014 including sending tanks<\/a> and fighter jets<\/a> \u2014 they have resisted Ukraine\u2019s calls to accelerate or ease the long and demanding process for any country to join the bloc itself. Mr. Borrell acknowledged on Monday that the \u201cstrongest security commitment\u201d the bloc could give would be E.U. membership.<\/p>\n He, like other European officials, has welcomed Ukraine broadly but without concrete details. \u201cUkraine\u2019s future lies within the E.U.,\u201d he said on social media ahead of the meeting.<\/p>\n The European Union gave Ukraine a path to membership last year, but a candidate country has to fulfill numerous detailed criteria and align its laws with the bloc\u2019s regulations, a process that usually takes several years.<\/p>\n The bloc is expected to decide in December whether to allow Ukraine to open negotiations with the European Union, the next step in the process and one which would require the unanimous backing of all 27 member states.<\/p>\n Mr. Borrell also expressed hope that member nations would, before the end of the year, approve a further 5 billion euros, or $5.3 billion, in military support for Ukraine, with \u201cmore to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, Ukraine\u2019s supporters in Washington \u2014 which include members of both parties in Congress \u2014 have also expressed hope that they can secure more money in the weeks ahead. <\/p>\n Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters that President Biden has repeatedly talked to the leaders of other countries in the past about supporting Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president as you know, was able to bring more than 50 countries to continue to show their support for Ukraine as our partners and allies,\u201d she said Monday. \u201cThat alliance is as strong as it\u2019s ever been and so that commitment is going to continue.<\/p>\n And in a rare moment of agreement, Ukrainian and Russian officials said they do not expect American support to dry up soon.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica will continue its involvement in this conflict,\u201d the Kremlin\u2019s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said on Monday, adding that \u201cexhaustion\u201d over the conflict would eventually mount in the United States and other countries.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, called the congressional negotiations \u201cnonsense\u201d and \u201cjust a performance for the public.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInterparty squabbles are one thing, and support is another thing,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cThey will find the money.\u201d<\/p>\n Vivek Shankar contributed reporting from Seoul, and Michael D. Shear from Washington.<\/p>\n