Portugal grants 250 million euros in financial assistance to Ukraine

Portugal and Ukraine signed an agreement for financial assistance of 250 million euros, "responding to the Ukrainian Government’s request" at the end of a work meeting between the Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in Kiev.

"We formalised this significant commitment by signing a financial cooperation agreement", said António Costa, noting that 100 million will be transferred throughout this year via Ukraine’s account with the International Monetary Fund or other channels the European Union opens for direct funding, and 150 million euros will be transferred to the Ukrainian state over the next three years.

"This was an agreement I had  outlined with the Ukrainian Prime Minister during our video teleconference meeting a few weeks ago. Ukraine has requested financial assistance from the Portuguese State and we had the opportunity to negotiate and fine tune the schedule for transferring these resources", he said.

This "rather hefty" financial assistance "is to fund the Ukrainian budget requirements" and "adds on to the other assistance Portugal has offered in terms of military equipment, humanitarian aid, or sanctions on Russia, or the support to Ukraine wishing to join the European Union", he added.

The meeting with the Head of the Ukrainian Government was held after a meeting and press conference with the President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which they discussed "Ukraine’s pressing needs, looking at its reconstruction", António Costa wrote on Twitter.

Political support

The Prime Minister claimed that Ukraine’s European choice must be greeted "with open arms" and defined Volodymyr Zelensky as "a leader who inspires the world", representing "a great lesson and example of courage and notable resistance" given Russia’s "brutal and barbaric" military aggression.

"Just as President Zelensky said, we are geographically apart, but Portuguese and Ukrainians are two peoples who are close – a proximity that starts with the major contribution given by the Ukrainian community to the development of Portugal over the last few decades". 

As such, "we have readily integrated those who in the last few weeks have had to request international protection". "We have been pleased to take in Ukrainians, with the strong conviction of supporting Ukraine in winning the war, making peace and creating the conditions for all those who wish to return to Ukraine can do so as soon as possible", he said.

European Union

The Prime Minister announced that Portugal will offer Ukraine technical support in its request to join the European Union, whereby the chief of cabinet, Assistant to the President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Lisbon in June.

António Costa underlined that Portugal’s diplomatic position in the European Union is defined by defending negotiation in complex matters. "«Portugal never stands for "no". We always stand for "let’s find a common ground" among the 27" member states, in this case, regarding Ukraine joining the EU.

He also said that when President Zelensky asked to join "he knew the European Union’s reality well, and he knew the difficulties the Union had inside". 

"We need to work on having a positive attitude, enhancing what is essential: Ukraine’s destination is Europe. The European Union has managed to overcome its divides and respond in a united manner, and we need to hold this unity at all costs. The worse thing the European Union could do to Ukraine is to split now", he added.

Cutting funding to Russia

"Portugal has sought to support Ukraine in different ways, helping to create the conditions for all the European Union countries to remain united in the sixth package of sanctions" on Russia. If this package is approved, it will be an embargo on importing oil products from Russia.

António Costa said that Portugal stands by a European path for full embargo on purchasing oil and gas from Russia, a step that Volodymyr Zelensky considered to be essential. 

However, many member states "do not have Portugal’s level of Independence with regard to gas and oil from Russia", said the Portuguese Head of Government, adding that "we are investing to create the logistics conditions for these countries to find other gas supplies".

These alternatives will allow these countries to overcome the difficulties in determining what is essential: a full blockage on all fuel imports from Russia", which is the "most effective way to keep from funding the Russian war", he claimed.

Military support

As for military support to Ukraine, António Costa said that Portugal supplies and will continue to supply lethal and non-lethal equipment, noting that on the 20th, a plane landed in Poland carrying military equipment. 

Portugal has sought to respond to the requests made by the Ukrainian authorities, but "many times we do not have the resources Ukraine needs. It is an ongoing effort. We have taken note of Ukraine’s specific requests and will continue to find what is within our reach", he added.

Reconstruction 

António Costa claimed that Portugal is available to take part in Ukraine’s reconstruction: "we are available to sponsor a geographic area, but we put another option on the table for President Zelensky’s appraisal: sponsoring the reconstruction of schools and kindergartens, as it is fundamental to invest in the future and guarantee that the new Ukrainian generations have a future in their homeland".

Plus, "Portugal has developed great capabilities in renewing its own schools" and it would be "a different contribution we can offer, and which meets Ukraine’s interests. Yet, it is up to the Ukrainian Government to decide".

Following the joint press conference with President Zelensky and the meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, António Costa met with the President of Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, to whom he showed his "profound admiration for the courage shown by the Ukrainian people in protecting their country’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity", as he wrote on Twitter, adding that "their struggle is a source of inspiration to the world".

Embassy

The Prime Minister also visited the Portuguese Embassy in Kiev, which never closed due to the dedication of the Ukrainian worker who remained on site and who played an essential role in repatriating Portuguese, Luso-Ukrainian and Brazilian nationals in the first days of the war. His dedication was acknowledged by Portugal with the President of the Republic awarding him the Order of Freedom, handed to Andryi Putilovski by António Costa. 

Still in the Portuguese Embassy, to which the Ambassador returned, the Prime Minister announced that the Ukrainian Head of State invited Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to visit Ukraine.

"What happened here was inadmissible"

 The Prime Minister, who arrived at Kiev station early in the morning, claimed that his visit to Ukraine is to show that Portugal "continues to support Ukraine in the very hard struggle it has had to protect its right to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and for peace".

António Costa then travelled to Irpin, a place where the Ukrainians stopped Russia’s invasion towards Kiev, where he visited destroyed residential areas.

A secretary of the Municipal Council of Irpin told António Costa that of the 100 thousand inhabitants, five thousand never left the city, despite the heavy destruction of infrastructures, and until now, only 25 thousand returned.

After listening to tales about what happened in the city during the most intense stage of the war, António Costa claimed to be "impressed by the brutality of what happened with the civilian populations. We know that war is always dramatic, but it has rules. Here, we are not talking about a normal war, rather criminal acts.

The way Russia acted in Irpin "was to destroy people’s lives. It is fundamental for the investigations to continue and for all the war crimes to be duly determined and sanctioned. War must obey the law. What happened here was inadmissible", he underlined.