Two billion to be taken from EU's peace facility budget to help Ukraine

Brussels: The European Union has decided to add two billion euros to the fund given to Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc is trying to arm Kyiv as long as possible.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on social media that the organisation remains committed to providing military support to Ukraine and other partners alike. Brussels has broken a long-standing taboo on not paying for arms deliveries. The European Union and its member states together had committed around eight billion euros in military support to Ukraine.

The money comes from the EU's peace facility budget which was originally planned to last till 2027. The international body has been forced to spend the amount in 10 months of the war against Russian invasion, reported AFP. The budget originally had 5.7 billion euros and now has only around 800 million left.

Moscow began the assault on its neighbour on February 24. Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters that he is expecting another wave of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine over the winter. "Nobody knows how many, but there will be hundreds of thousands more as the horrific and unlawful bombing of civilian infrastructure makes life unliveable in too many places. So I fear that the crisis in Europe will deepen and that it will equally overshadow crises in other places of the world." He was speaking after returning from a trip to Ukraine.

Polish President Andrzej Duda also asked Germany to prepare for a new wave of refugees from Ukraine this winter. He said: "People are fleeing from the frost, from death, and from Russian missiles and bombs."