‘Europe will stand with Ukraine to win, rebuild’: Top EU officials arrive in Kyiv ahead of historic summit

The European Union’s top officials arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 2, to meet their Ukrainian counterparts ahead of a historic wartime summit taking place nearly a year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Upon arrival in the morning, the delegation of more than a dozen members from the EU’s executive branch held a meeting with the Ukrainian government.

The EU council announced that it would provide Ukraine with another 500 million euros ($542 million) for the seventh tranche of military aid, along with an additional 45 million euros ($49 million) for the training of Ukrainian troops.

EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, who visited the Ukrainian capital with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel, announced that the bloc would double the number of Ukrainian soldiers to be trained this year to 30,000.

Borrell also said the EU would provide 25 million euros ($27.5 million) to help Ukraine demine liberated areas. Ukraine is said to be the most mined country in the world.

"Europe stood united with Ukraine from day one. And will still stand with you to win and rebuild," Borrell said.

Von der Leyen, visiting Kyiv for the fourth time since the February invasion, said the EU wants the fresh sanctions against Russia to be ready by Feb. 24 – on the all-out war’s first anniversary. She said the 10th round of sanctions aims to inflict more pain on Russian petroleum products, and the price cap would be coordinated with the G7.

The EU has gradually stepped up its military assistance for Ukraine over the course of Russia’s nearly year-long full-scale invasion.

Last month, many EU member states made historic promises on military aid for Ukraine, vowing to send Western-made tanks for the first time. Borrel said that the bloc has allocated about 50 billion euros in aid for the country – a fifth of which was in the military sector.

“We are here together to show that the EU stands by Ukraine as firmly as ever,” von der Leyen said upon her arrival.

However, Ukraine’s hopes of joining the EU soon are set to be dashed at the long-anticipated EU-Ukraine Summit on Feb. 3.

Russia continues to wage its deadly assaults in the east and south of the country, and the EU has said that Ukraine needs to establish a credible track record to curb corruption in the country. Ukraine is also behind on judicial reforms, a deep-rooted issue that remains in the shadow of the war.