EU, Ukraine to sign bilateral security agreement

The European Union and Ukraine are expected to sign a long-term security agreement when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Brussels on Thursday (27 June), pledging to maintain military support and other aid to Kyiv as it fights off Russia’s invasion.

The security pact is part of a wider Western effort to help the country combat Russia’s aggression and is meant to complement a series of similar bilateral agreements Ukraine has so far sealed with its Western allies.

Ukrainian officials told Euractiv that Kyiv had sealed 17 such agreements so far, and several more will be signed in the coming months.

The EU-Ukraine security agreement is expected to lay out and ‘lock in’ the current range of the EU’s commitment to support Ukraine, as first reported by Euractiv in April.

It does not specify the financial value or quantity of the EU’s future military assistance.

However, the document references the EU’s recent decision to inject €5 billion into a special fund for Ukraine military aid this year.

“Further comparable annual increases could be envisaged until 2027,” the document states.

In the event of “future aggression”, the document states that the EU and Ukraine intend to consult within 24 hours on Kyiv’s needs and “swiftly determine” the next steps in line with the agreed commitments.

It spells out nine defence policy areas, including arms deliveries, military training, defence industry cooperation and demining, where the EU can support Kyiv, according to a draft seen by Euractiv.

The draft document states commitments will remain valid “as Ukraine pursues its European path” and will be reviewed in 10 years at the latest.

Western military officials have insisted that Ukraine’s security deals signed with allies are not the same as NATO’s mutual defence pact.

However, the pledges to provide Ukraine with weapons and other aid to bolster its own security and deter any future invasion are widely seen as an additional legal guarantee for Kyiv that support will stay on course.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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