Nearly 50 European leaders reiterate support for Ukraine in Spain summit

Granada, Oct 5: Almost 50 European leaders used a summit in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Thursday to stress they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears somewhat weakened.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that besides maintaining such unity, more military aid to get through the winter was just as essential.
Despite the political, economic and military support, the desperate struggle to rid Ukraine territory of invading Russian forces has ground to a stalemate, and Zelenskyy insisted that it was no time for wavering in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And especially now that questions about continued support are growing in the United States too.
“Europe must be strong” despite what happens in other places around the globe, Zelenskyy said, calling for more air defence systems, artillery shells, long-range missiles and drones.
He said that victory or defeat in Ukraine would determine Europe’s fate.
Zelenskyy flew in early in the morning to the third meeting of the European Political Community forum, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that drastically reset the continent’s political agenda and fundamentally undermined long-held beliefs on peace and stability on the continent.
Support from Europe has become all the more important after US Congress hastily sent President Joe Biden legislation over the weekend that kept the federal government funded, but left off billions in funding for Ukraine’s war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.
Biden called other world powers on Tuesday to coordinate on Ukraine in a deliberate show of US support at a time when the future of its aid is questioned by an important faction of Republicans who want to cut off money to Kyiv.
“The main challenge that we have that is to save unity in Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
Last weekend’s election in Slovakia, where pro-Russia candidate Robert Fico was the big winner, and Hungary’s continued recalcitrance to fully back Ukraine have cast increasing shadows on Europe’s commitment. That counts especially for the European Union where many decisions on Ukraine need unanimity among the bloc’s 27 members.
In Slovakia early this week, the president refused a plan by her country’s caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine, saying it doesn’t have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last week’s election.
On Thursday, though, the overall mood was supportive. (AP)