The European Union announced Sunday it will send weapons, including fighter planes, to Ukraine as the Eastern European nation battles an all-out invasion from neighboring Russia. The 27-member European bloc had already closed its airspace to Russian planes and barred two Kremlin-controlled media outlets, but the plans to send weapons directly through Brussels is a first.
"This is a watershed moment," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "The European Union steps up once more its support for Ukraine and the sanctions against the aggressor that is Putin's Russia. For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack."
In a meeting on Sunday, EU foreign minister agreed to budget €450 million ($502 million) for weapons and equipment for Ukraine. Poland agreed to work as a logistic hub for the delivery of weapons.
It includes plans for the European Union to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft.
This was announced by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security on Facebook with reference to the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, according to Ukrinform.
"We're going to provide even fighting jets. We're not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war," Borrell told a press conference. He added that more lethal aid, worth EUR 500 million, is to be delivered to Ukraine.
The announcement came after a series of financial sanctions on Russia and other western nations pledging humanitarian and military aid. President Joe Biden on Saturday announced the U.S. State Department will send $350 million worth of weapons to Ukraine, on top of more than $1 billion in security assistance the U.S. has given to Ukraine over the past year.
