2024-02-05 17:59:53
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says he has started a trip to Ukraine. “I’m on my way to Kiev,” Borrell told reporters on Monday during a stopover in Warsaw. He once more called for more support for Ukraine. A new push to arm the country is necessary to repel the “invasion,” said Borrell, calling on EU member states to provide “everything necessary.”
Borrell’s fourth visit to Ukraine comes once morest the backdrop of renewed international efforts to provide Ukraine with weapons to fight once morest Russian troops. Almost two years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine.
“It’s not just a question of time. It’s a question of the quantity and quality of our supplies. And of course we have to do more and faster, because Ukraine has to prevail,” Borrell said.
On Thursday, following weeks of blockade by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the EU agreed on new economic aid for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros.
Meanwhile, police and military have begun a large-scale search for possible Russian sabotage groups in the north of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. According to media reports on Monday, roadblocks were set up in several sections of the Obolonsky district. The operation was carried out “to identify enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” Ukrainska Pravda quoted an official statement as saying.
Most recently, Russian sabotage groups were suspected in Kiev immediately following the attack by Russian troops on Ukraine in February 2022. According to the official reading, their goal was to eliminate Ukraine’s political and military leadership. The results of the searches at that time were never published.
In the south of the country, the Ukrainian authorities have temporarily closed the city of Kherson and the surrounding area to foreigners. The trigger was the death of two French employees of a non-governmental organization due to Russian attacks. This measure applies to both members of diplomatic missions and employees of international aid organizations, the regional military administration announced on Telegram on Monday. “In time of war, no one can guarantee security, but we must clearly establish the presence of people in places of active hostilities.”
The two Frenchmen were killed in a Russian artillery attack in the town of Beryslaw on Thursday. Three other French citizens and a Ukrainian were injured in this attack.
At least four people were killed in Kherson as a result of Russian artillery fire. Another was injured, the regional administration said on Telegram on Monday. The city, which is only separated from Russian positions by the Dnipro River, was shelled several times throughout the day.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for almost two years. Kherson, which once had almost 300,000 inhabitants, was occupied by Russian troops for several months in 2022. Since the Russian withdrawal across the Dnipro River, the city has been under artillery fire almost daily.
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