EU's new top team vows 'unwavering support' to Ukraine

European Council president Antonio Costa and foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas visit Kyiv on first day in office

New EU representatives Kaja Kallas, Antonio Costa and Marta Kos visited Kyiv on Sunday in a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Photo: Kaja Kallas

The European Union's reshuffled leadership vowed “unwavering support” to Ukraine in its war against Russia as it took office on Sunday for a new term clouded by the return of Donald Trump.

Antonio Costa, the new European Council president, and Kaja Kallas, the EU's new foreign affairs chief, visited Kyiv in a show of solidarity on their first day in office. They were joined by Marta Kos, the new enlargement commissioner who has the job of helping Ukraine qualify for EU membership.

“My message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war,” Ms Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister known for her hawkish stance towards Russia, wrote in a social media post. “We will do whatever it takes for that.”

Mr Costa, who replaces Charles Michel as council president, said the EU was “reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people”. The former Portuguese prime minister will share the role of representing the EU at leaders' summits with re-elected commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

"We have stood with you since the very first day of this war of aggression and you can count on us to continue to stand with you," he said. "These are not just words. We will continue giving humanitarian, economic, diplomatic, military and energy assistance."

The European Parliament formally approved Ms von der Leyen's new commission on Wednesday, drawing a line under six months of horse-trading following EU elections in June. She plans to develop the EU's military clout and has identified the bloc's enlargement as a “geopolitical imperative”.

But after almost three years of war, western backing for Ukraine could falter once Mr Trump returns to the White House in January. During his campaign he criticised “never-ending” US aid and said he would negotiate an end to the war “in 24 hours”, without giving details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signalled on Friday that he could make a concession to end the “hot stage” of the war by leaving Russian-controlled territory out of a Ukrainian membership bid for Nato, at least initially. He has said 2025 should be a “year of peace”.

Mr Costa said at a handover ceremony on Friday that he was “yearning for peace” but that it “cannot mean capitulation” or reward Russian aggression. Moscow's troops control part of eastern Ukraine and have gone back on the offensive to gain ground in the Donbas region.

Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that 78 drones were fired in an overnight barrage of which 32 were shot down. Three people were killed in the southern city of Kherson and seven others wounded, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Foreign policy aims

The EU's new top team also faces a complex picture in the Middle East as diplomats push for a ceasefire in Gaza and rebel militants gain ground in Syria. Ms Kallas has been tasked with drawing up a comprehensive EU Middle East strategy to prepare for the “day after” the Israel-Gaza war.

Her jobs also include “promoting all the steps needed for the two-state solution” in Israel and Palestine, and working on a new Pact for the Mediterranean to “reshape our essential relationship with the region”, according to a mission letter from Ms von der Leyen dated Sunday.

During confirmation hearings, Ms Kallas told the European Parliament that the four cornerstones of the EU's policy on Gaza were an immediate ceasefire and hostage release, asking for “utmost restraint” from all parties, providing humanitarian aid and promoting the two-state solution.

She deflected questions on whether the EU will designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, a long-debated issue. She suggested a “new approach” to Iran would take into account its nuclear programme and allegations of interference in European countries such as Sweden.