EU agrees additional 500 mln euros in military aid for Ukraine

BRUSSELS -- The foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) member states on Monday agreed to grant Ukraine an additional 500 million euros (507.7 million U.S. dollars) in EU military aid.

Josep Borrell, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, told a news conference here following the Foreign Affairs Council meeting that the ministers agreed on tightening the sanctions on Russia and closing the loopholes in the current measures.

The decision came after a video debriefing on the latest developments by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Borrell said the ministers "unanimously agreed" on the need to continue to stand firmly with Ukraine. The bloc's total contribution in military aid now stands at 2.5 billion euros.

He confirmed that the ministers also discussed the European Commission's latest proposal on banning Russian gold imports and amending the extension of sanctions. He said that the member states' ambassadors will discuss the measures this week. (1 euro = 1.02 US dollars)