European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said on Monday that Ukraine remains “a European top security priority,” as EU ministers warned against allowing the war to be overshadowed by escalating tensions in the Middle East.
“We discussed the war on Ukraine. Moscow stands to gain from higher energy prices and the diversion of air defences from Ukraine to the Middle East,” Kallas said at a press conference. “Ministers were clear that Ukraine remains a European top security priority and attention for Ukraine will not be allowed to fizzle out.”
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She added that the overlap between threats facing Ukraine and the Gulf had also come up in the discussion. “The same drones that are hitting Kyiv are hitting the states of the Gulf, so as Ukraine has the best drone defences, we also discussed briefly how we can put these things together: the needs for the Gulf countries, but also the needs of Ukraine and the defence sector and industry,” Kallas said.
Kallas also warned that Russia’s war continued to affect neighboring countries beyond Ukraine itself. “Russia keeps spilling the war over to its neighbours,” she said. “Russia strikes on Ukrainian hydro power plant threatened to contaminate Moldova’s water supply. We are supporting Moldova with equipment aid and satellite imagery.”
On sanctions and energy, Kallas said the EU would keep up pressure on Moscow despite Washington’s move to ease restrictions on Russian oil. “Following the US decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil, Europe will maintain sanctions and continue to move away from Russian fossil fuels,” she said. “If we want this war to end, Moscow must have less money for the war, not more.”
She called for tougher action against Russia’s shadow fleet, describing it as one of the bloc’s most effective pressure points. “Dialling up pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet is one of the best tools we have,” Kallas said. “I commend France, Belgium and also Sweden for boarding and seizing falsely flagged tankers. It is time for the gloves to come off on Russia’s shadow fleet.”
Kallas added that Brussels also discussed next steps on further financial and sanctions measures. “On the EU side, the adoption of the 20th sanctions package is long overdue. We discussed how to push this forward. The same goes for the €90 billion loan,” she said.
