Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, while outlining the priorities of his country's rotating presidency of the EU, said that support for Ukraine, the provision of military assistance and humanitarian issues will be a priority for this period. It is reported by Ukrinform.

“In short, our priorities are to make Europe greener, safer and freer.. We have a lot to do over the next six months during difficult times.. There is a war going on in Europe that has already resulted in countless casualties, both among the military and among civilians, in cruel atrocities. And also to an energy crisis and economic collapse... Our obvious starting point is Ukraine is the first priority for all of us.. There is nothing else that is so important,” said Kristersson.

According to the head of the Swedish government, the next months will be especially difficult, especially " While the EU's first response to the current crisis was tough, Europe must continue to move its political and legislative agenda forward.

He recalled that the EU response to Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine was strong, united and decisive.. In addition to the 9 sanctions packages applied against Russia, the EU countries provided further general assistance to Ukraine in 2023 through the allocation of 18 billion euros of macro-financial assistance. Many individual European countries have provided Ukraine with important military equipment.. Ukraine and Moldova acquired the status of EU candidate countries. The European Union is firmly on track to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels. If before the deprivation of such dependence was mainly an economic issue and a matter of combating climate change, now, according to a Swedish official, it has finally turned into a geopolitical issue..

“Over the past few years, we have shown that in times of crisis the EU is truly capable of coming together, able to exert international influence without losing focus on its own long-term agenda.. Vladimir Putin's regime underestimated this. He underestimated not only Ukraine, but also the European Union,” the Swedish prime minister added..

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We will remind, earlier the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, called the missile attack on a residential building in the Dnieper, which killed 40 people, a war crime for Russia..