The member countries of the European Union promised their unwavering support for Ukraine amidst an invasion by Russia.
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The European leaders have come forward for the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the face of the US taking a step back over defense funding for the invaded country, promising their much-needed unwavering support. The European Union (EU) is a supranational union of 28 European member countries.
In the gathering of leaders at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Grenada, Spain, global leaders like Emmanuel Macron of France, Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Rishi Sunak of the UK, Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, and Edi Rama of Albania were present.
This gathering at the EPC in Spain gave leaders including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz a good chance to state their commitment more clearly to the invaded country after the political hardships in the US Parliament and Europe raised crucial questions about their continued support.
Here’s what the president of the EU said
The president of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, said that gathering all the members of the 47 European leaders was testimony to the strength of support in their fight to defeat the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The president of the EU said, “This is a strong message for Putin from Dublin to Chișinău that we do not tolerate foreign aggression against a foreign state.
The recent Russian missile strike escalated tensions
The recent missile strike in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv by Russia escalated the already-present tensions between the two countries. According to Ukrainian officials, the strike at least killed 51 people and wiped out some parts of the missile-hit village. After the missile strike, President Zelensky said it was imperative that Europe remain united.
President Zelensky said, “The main challenge is to save unity in Europe, not only in the EU but in all of Europe.” From the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, to the present day, October 6, 2023, one year and seven months have passed. In this period of one year and seven months, there have been many attacks and deaths.
The US Parliament’s dispute complicated the matter
The recent removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy from Speaker of Parliament on October 3 has stopped all the budget negotiations and further complicated the matter. The dispute in Parliament is among the Republican majority of the House of Representatives. The business of the Parliament will not continue until a permanent speaker is elected.
This dispute has forced US President Joe Biden to shift from assurance that a deal will be made on Ukraine aid to expressing growing concerns. “It does worry me,” President Joe Biden said, referring to the stopped negotiations in the US Parliament. This suspension of proceedings by the Parliament has put a hold on US support for the invaded country.
The president of the EU, Ursula, and the German Chancellor, Scholz, said that they were “very confident” that the US would uphold their aid for Ukraine and that they (the US) would continue to support Ukraine. The Ukrainian President also said that he was assured “100% support” from the US. The US support is crucial for them amidst the invasion from Russia.
Slovakia and Poland backed off from supporting Ukraine
Amidst many countries in the European Union supporting and helping the invaded country, countries including Poland and Slovakia are backing off from supporting them. Slovakia has pledged to halt its military aid to the invaded country, while Poland has said that Warsaw will no longer send weapons to Ukraine.
Invaded by Russia, one of the superpower countries, Ukraine is in dire need of help and support from other countries to keep the Russian invaders out. The war with Russia has cost many people their lives; places have been destroyed and people are living in fear.
