Russia-Ukraine war: EU chief says Ukraine has unconditional support of bloc

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine has the bloc’s unconditional support ahead of the upcoming EU-Ukraine Summit this week. Von der Leyen also stressed the importance of Ukraine prevailing against Russia in a war nearing its first year.

Von der Leyen reiterated the bloc’s support for Ukraine and the need for Ukraine to prevail in remarks at an event of her party, the Christian Democrat CDU, in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Saturday. Von der Leyen’s comments come ahead of the planned European Union-Ukraine summit on Friday, Feb 3.

“We stand by Ukraine’s side without any ifs and buts,” said von der Leyen in her remarks. Von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine “is fighting for our shared values, it is fighting for the respect of international law and for the principles of democracy and that is why Ukraine has to win this war.”

Meanwhile, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence of the United States Treasury, Brian Nelson, is set to travel to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Turkey this week to meet with government officials as Washington looks to enforce its sanctions on Russia aggressively. Nelson will also meet with businesses and financial institutions to reiterate the continued implementation of sanctions by Washington.

“Individuals and institutions operating in permissive jurisdictions risk potentially losing access to G7 markets on account of doing business with sanctioned entities,” said the Treasury.

Nelson is expected to discuss the Treasury’s efforts to further crack down on potential attempts by Russia to evade sanctions and export controls that were imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The destabilizing activity of Iran in the region, the illicit finance risks that undermine economic growth, and foreign investment are also on the agenda of Nelson’s visit.

On Sunday, the British defense ministry said in its intelligence bulletin that the Russian education ministry had provided further details on the rollout of the plans to include basic military training, also referred to as “Basics of Life Safety”, in the curriculum in Russia’s secondary schools.

The training course will include training with AK assault rifles and hand grenades, military drills, and salutes, as well as using personal protective equipment. The course is set to be implemented on September 1. This follows the previous announcements by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education of a similar basic military training course.