Charles Michel, President of the European Council, has promised to accelerate the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine under the COVAX mechanism.

Michel said at a press conference after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday that the EU had already provided EUR 190 million to Ukraine in the fight against COVID and EUR 1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance, and added that the EU is helping Ukraine gain access to COVID vaccines.

EU-supported COVAX activities have distributed a significant amount of vaccines to Ukraine, he said, adding that he will personally be involved to speed up the delivery.

He indicated that he had reaffirmed the EU's solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of COVID-19 and visited the vaccination center during his visit.