by Negin Nouri
The European Union has agreed on Sunday to provide €500 million in arms and other aid Ukraine needs right now to battle Russia's invasion. This marks history as it will be the first time the EU will finance the purchase of firearms and other weapons to another country under attack. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, called it a “watershed moment”.
The plan was agreed during an emergency conference on Sunday evening, confirming that the budget should be spent on “lethal arms, lethal assistance to the Ukrainian army for a value of €450 million support package and €50 million on non lethal supplies” for example food, water, and rescue supporters.
The amount is 10% of the €5 billion allocated towards the European peace facility for the 2021-2027 budget cycle, and it's almost the most they can spend for the rest of the year. The plan was announced after Germany said that it would provide weapons to Ukraine, which is a historic shift from a country that has long prohibited sending arms into war zones.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his government would set up a fund of €100 billion to upgrade Germany's armed forces and its future with NATO, with a goal of spending more than 2 percent of its GDP on military and defense funding.
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