Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal speaks during a press conference at the end of the EU-Ukraine Association Council at the European Council, in Brussels, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Ukraine’s prime minister on Monday urged the European Union to stand firm against Russian energy “blackmail” and called for more weapons, including aircraft, for the war-torn country, even as the EU’s arms stockpile runs low. “Russia is waging a hybrid war on the European continent against the European Union. Gas extortion, oil extortion, creating the food crisis, the migration crisis, disinformation, cyber-attacks,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said. “But leaving Ukraine alone against Russia – that would just be one of those steps to further move Russia deeper into Europe. The only salvation is for Europe to be united,” he told reporters in Brussels after a meeting with senior EU officials. The 27 EU member states have been pouring arms, ammunition and other aid into Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24. The bloc has provided billions of euros in economic and refugee support. Sanctions are also gradually affecting the Russian economy, but there is growing concern that the EU’s resolve may wane as inflation and energy prices rise. However, Shmyhal insisted that Ukraine, which has been accepted as a candidate for future EU membership, still needs more help. “Unfortunately, we see no signs that Russia is willing to stop the war. That’s why we need more modern weapons, such as air defense, anti-missile defense, anti-ship defense,” as well as armored vehicles and aircraft, he said. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “the European Union will continue to support Ukraine, whatever threat, whatever blackmail Russia can do to us” and that “as long as necessary”. But Borrell warned earlier on Monday that EU arms stocks were running low and urged member states to better coordinate their spending on military hardware. “The military stockpiles of most member states are depleted, I wouldn’t say they are depleted, but they are depleted to a large extent because we provide a lot of capability to the Ukrainians,” he said in a debate with MEPs. “It needs to be refilled. The best way to replenish is to do it together. It will be cheaper,” he said. At a meeting in the Czech Republic last week, EU defense ministers discussed ways to better pool military hardware and resources, but also to bulk buy ammunition and weapons, such as air defense systems, that Ukraine continues to need. Borrell warned on Monday that if member states continue to expand their military capabilities in the same way, “the result will be a big waste of money, because this is not a way to cancel our duplications — there are many — or to cover our gaps.” Borrell also said he believed it was a missed opportunity for the EU to start training Ukrainian armed forces a year ago, many months before Russia launched its invasion more than six months ago, after several member states called for such business. “Unfortunately we didn’t, and today we regret it. We regret that last August we did not follow through on that request by fulfilling that request,” he said. If the EU had responded at the time, Borrell said, “we would have been in a better position.”
