High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, stopped in Poland on his way to Ukraine to consult with the Polish side on further support for Ukraine.

Borrell said this at a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw on Monday.

“I am on my way to Ukraine. I am on my way to Kyiv, and I wanted to make a stop-over in Warsaw because certainly, we have to make consultations with our Polish friends in order to understand better what is going on in Ukraine and how we can continue our support,” the High Representative said.

According to him, during the negotiations with the Polish side, issues of "all forms of our support to Ukraine" were discussed: military, financial, rehabilitation, measures against Russia, the use of frozen assets. “Allow me to recognise that Poland has demonstrated, since the beginning, a firm support for Ukraine from the day one. Hosting refugees, providing substantial military assistance, hosting the Headquarters of the training mission (EUMAM Ukraine), which will be training 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and offering a logistical hub for military supplies provided by all partners. It is a lot of effort that the Polish government and the Polish society have been doing. And I want to thank you for this important contribution to the overall European Union support to Ukraine. I think we can say that we agreed that not only we have to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, but for whatever it takes. It is not just a matter of time, it is a matter of quantity and quality of our supplies,” Borrell said.

At the same time, the EU High Representative said that “we have to do more and quicker, because Ukraine has to prevail.” Ukraine is fighting but it is also fighting for the European security,” he stressed.

Borrell also stated that it is necessary to think about the long-term perspective. “Supporting Ukraine is first and foremost about helping Ukraine to defeat the invasion, but we have to think about how to reach peace and how we support Ukraine’s reconstruction process. I am going to Ukraine to discuss the ongoing [work on] EU security commitments,” the High Representative explained.

He also spoke about the need to continue to supply ammunition. “I think that we will - with the support of Poland - reach a final agreement by early March on the proposed Ukraine Assistance Fund, within the European Peace Facility, and I count on the strong support from Poland. If we agree on that, it will ensure more predictability and sustainability for further support to Ukraine being co-financed by the European Union,” Borrell stressed.