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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell in Brussels on Sunday
Photo: STEPHANIE LECOCQ / POOL / EPA
According to a proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Ukraine should get weapons and equipment from the European Union for half a billion euros.
This was confirmed by several diplomats on Sunday to the dpa and Reuters news agencies.
According to the plans, the money will come from the so-called European Peace Facility, a new EU financing instrument that can also be used to strengthen the capabilities of armed forces in partner countries.
For the period from 2021 to 2027, the peace facility is endowed with around five billion euros.
Turning point in EU policy
According to Borrell's proposal, 450 million euros should now be made available for weapons and 50 million euros for other equipment as a first step.
It could be approved by the EU foreign ministers in a video conference this Sunday evening and then decided in writing.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was sure on Sunday evening that this will happen.
"For the first time, the European Union will fund the purchase and delivery of arms and other equipment to a country under attack," she said.
This is a turning point.
EU-wide airspace closure
The airspace over the EU countries is to be completely closed to Russian aircraft.
"We propose a ban on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft," von der Leyen said.
The airspace will be closed to all Russian aircraft, including the private jets of oligarchs.
Individual countries, including Germany, had previously blocked their airspace for Russian aircraft.
They are only allowed to use German airspace in a few exceptional cases, such as for humanitarian purposes.
Most recently, the EU countries had agreed to block their airspace for aircraft from a certain country when a Ryanair plane was forced to land in Belarus.
Ban on Russian state media
In the fight against Russian propaganda, the EU also wants to ban the Russian state media RT and Sputnik.
They would then no longer be able to "spread lies" to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine and sow division in the EU, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
rai/dpa/Reuters
