Russia
has been warned not to count on "weariness" in Europe over support
for Ukraine, as European Union (EU) foreign ministers meet in Kyiv.
It is the first time the
assembly has been held outside the bloc. Ukraine is not an EU member but wants
to join.
The meeting comes a day
after further military funding for Ukraine was left out of a last-minute US
budget deal.
EU policy chief Josep
Borrell has described the ongoing war in Ukraine as an "existential
crisis".
"Maybe it's not being
seen like this for everybody around the world, but for us, Europeans, allow me
to repeat it: it's an existential threat," Mr Borrell told the gathering
on Monday.
"And that's why we
have to continue supporting you and discussing with our American allies and
friends for them to continue supporting you."
French Foreign Minister
Catherine Colonna, meanwhile, described the gathering as a "demonstration
of our resolute and lasting support for Ukraine, until it can win".
"It is also a message
to Russia that it should not count on our weariness. We will be there for a
long time to come."
The US budget deal, which
is a temporary measure, did not include $6bn (£4.92bn) in military aid for
Kyiv.
But President Joe Biden,
who has already approved some $46bn (£37bn) in military aid since Russia
launched its full-scale invasion last year, said Kyiv could "count
on" US support.
The Kremlin says it
believed conflict fatigue would grow in both Europe and the US but that
Washington would continue to be directly involved in the conflict.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday that he thought it had been an
"incident" rather than an example of waning support.
Hardline Republicans in the
US oppose further military aid for Ukraine, with many openly opposing President
Joe Biden's approach to the war.
"We are now working with both sides of Congress to make sure that it does not (get) repeated again under any circumstances," said Mr. Kuleba.
"So we don't feel that
the US support has been shattered."
Ukraine has been making
some progress in its pushback against Russia - widening the breach in Russia's
defenses in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
It has also made advances
around Bakhmut after Russia moved some of its most experienced troops from
there to strengthen defenses further south.
Meanwhile, Russia has maintained drone attacks on Ukraine's River Danube ports - damaging the country's grain export infrastructure.
Ukraine said on Monday that
numerous infrastructure facilities and residential buildings were damaged in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, and Kharkiv regions.
The EU foreign ministry
meeting comes after the pro-Russian candidate of one of its members, Slovakia,
won the country's parliamentary elections.
Robert Fico, who is a
former prime minister, is expected to start coalition talks on forming the next
government.
He has previously pledged
an immediate end to military support for Ukraine.
Mr Kuleba said it was "too early to judge" how the election result would impact his country.
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