Check against delivery! 

Good morning. Good to be back here today.

Today we are discussing again what more can we do to help Ukraine. And, on the European side, last year we supported Ukraine with [€]20 billion. This year already Member States have committed over [€]23 billion. We are definitely doing more than last year, but we need to do [even] more. We see the pledges coming every day. 

We also see that there are steps taken by the Member States, which is important that we send the signal that we are behind Ukraine, and this is also what the meeting is about.

Q&A 

Q: You said yesterday about the reassurance force that there had to be some clarity as to what the goal was. Was it a monitoring force, a reassurance, a deterrence force? Can you be any clearer as to what exactly is being asked of European countries in terms of commitments, military commitments, and what their role will be after that meeting?

No. I mean, the different Member States, like I said, have different opinions and the discussions are still ongoing.

Q: How concerned are you that Russia may be getting ready for a major offensive in the next months to strengthen its position in the peninsula?

They are trying to do that all the time. We see these deadliest attacks that they have done in recent days, and also yesterday again we heard they are not targeting military, they are targeting civilians to cause major harm. But they are not advancing as fast on the battlefield really. But it is clear that they want to make their position better. At the same time, we are already four weeks into the time when Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire, and we have not seen any positive signs on the Russian side. So, we really need to put the pressure on Russia, and I think it is the credibility of all the ones who have said that we need the killing to stop.

Thank you.

• Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270662