The European Council will be offered to use EU funding to supply lethal weapons and other supplies to Ukraine to counter the Russian occupiers.

This proposal will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which will be held on Sunday evening in video format. The event was initiated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

"I will propose to [EU foreign] ministers to use the European Peace Facility for two emergency assistance measures. These aim to finance the supply of lethal material to the heroic Ukrainian army, which is fighting with fierce resistance against the Russian invaders and provide urgently needed non-lethal supplies, such as fuel," he said on the eve of meetings.

According to the European External Action Service, this proposal follows a direct request made by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday during his address to EU foreign ministers.

In addition, the statement on tough economic sanctions, made on Saturday by a number of countries and the European Commission, will be submitted to the ministers for discussion. These include the exclusion of a certain number of Russian banks from SWIFT, preventing the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves and acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. "Today's discussion by EU Foreign Ministers will pave the way for the swift adoption of all necessary legal acts. The High Representative would also put forward a number of additional possible measures to provide assistance to the people of Ukraine in the face of the senseless aggression by Russia," the statement said.

In addition, during the meeting, European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, Janez Lenarčič will provide an update on the EU's humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees in neighbouring countries.