EU’s Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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EU’s Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support.

"Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster," he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first in-person meeting with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

"We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," Borrell added.

Umerov, whose appointment by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was approved by parliament on Sept. 6, thanked Borrell in a statement on X for "continuous support" and said the meeting was "a starting point for great cooperation."

He said their discussions of EU military aid to Ukraine covered "artillery & ammunition, air defense, EW & long-term assistance programs, trainings, and defense industry localization" in Ukraine. EW is an acronym for electronic warfare.

This week the European Defense Agency said in response to questions from Reuters that seven EU countries had ordered ammunition under a procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks.



Russian Attack Wounds Three in Ukraine's Sumy Region

Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
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Russian Attack Wounds Three in Ukraine's Sumy Region

Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

At least three people, including two children, were wounded in a Russian attack on the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, local authorities said.
Sumy region borders Russia's Kursk region and has been regularly shelled by Russian forces for months.
"Russians dropped a bomb on a residential building. Two children and one adult were injured. One entrance of the apartment building was destroyed," Sumy military administration said on the Telegram messenger.
A rescue operation was under way to find people who may be trapped by rubble, officials said. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the events in Sumy.
Russia's defense ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Nadiya in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region and had shot down eight US-made ATACMS missiles.
Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.
The ministry said its air defense systems had shot down 10 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory on Saturday morning, including three over the northern Leningrad region.
St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures on Saturday morning.