EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell called on the bloc's member states to decide whether to provide Ukraine with weapons within days rather than weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
"The European Union's top diplomat is urging member states to quickly provide Kiev with the weapons it has requested as Ukraine prepares to step up its campaign in the east by Russia, according to people familiar with the discussions over the weekend. Josep Borrell told EU diplomats that a decision is needed in the coming days, not weeks, and the bloc must do everything possible to help Ukraine, people said," the agency wrote.
According to the source, most EU governments have pledged to study the requests for arms, but have not yet indicated the exact timing or what kind of weapons they might send. The topic will be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg later Monday.
According to people familiar with the discussions, EU members have been advised to provide equipment from their advanced stocks, not just their own, because of the urgency of the situation. Russia will probably want to announce some kind of achievement before May 9, which means it will step up its attacks, two sources said.
"In the long term, NATO allies are also looking for ways to help and teach Ukraine how to transition to more modern weapons. Countries are looking closely at modern weapons for Ukraine as the Soviet-era stockpile dries up," the publication wrote.
"Now comes another battle, the battle for Donbas. And, of course, we are preparing for that by working with our partners to get all the weapons we need and really everything we need to win the battle," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told NBC Meet the Press on Sunday.
EU foreign ministers are also expected to discuss further sanctions, particularly on oil, and holding russia accountable for war crimes on Monday.
