BRUSSELS, August 29. /TASS/. European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell has welcomed the Ukrainian military’s incursion into the Kursk Region, describing it "strategic audacity" and called for giving Kiev more air defense weapons and for lifting all restrictions on strikes on Russia with Western weapons. He was speaking upon arrival at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers together with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
Borrell had moved the meeting from Budapest to Brussels to punish Hungary for Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visits to Russia and China in early July with peace initiatives "uncoordinated" with the European Commission.
"Ukraine has shown a lot of strategic audacity launching attacks inside Russian territory. It is important strategic news," Borrell said. He accused Russia of retaliatory strikes on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, which, he said, would "put Ukraine into the dark and cold."
"Air defense systems were critical before the summer. They are still much more critical today. This will be the first point of a very busy Foreign Affairs Council," he said. At the same time, Borrell acknowledged that it would be difficult for EU countries to fulfill their promises to supply Kiev with air defense systems without delays.
"It is very easy to promise, but it is a little bit more difficult to deliver. We will push member states to fulfill their announced commitments in the field of air defense," Borrell said.
He called for the full use of Western weapons against Russia and for lifting all related restrictions. Otherwise, he said, "this weaponry is useless." He emphasized that there was a need for lifting "restrictions on the use of weaponry against Russian military targets." Since the beginning of the conflict, Brussels has not officially recognized a single Ukrainian strike, be it against urban buildings or the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, as a strike against civilian facilities.