EU to double efforts to support Ukraine amid mutiny in Russia – von der Leyen

President of the Eurean Commission Ursula von der Leyen said this today in Brussels before the EU summit, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We're having an interesting Eurean Council ahead of us with basically three major tics. The first one is Ukraine, the second migration and the third competitiveness. We will discuss Ukraine against the backdr of the mutiny we witnessed last weekend and this showed deep cracks in Putin system. This mutiny of last weekend will also have aftershocks that we will see. The more it is important that we double down on the support for Ukraine, be it military capability or financial support, very important to be here consistent," said Ursula von der Leyen.

She noted that the "erosion" currently observed in the "Wagner Group" is important not only for Ukraine, where this group was invved in the fighting but also for African countries, where Putin tried to increase his influence through the Wagner militants.

In the field of migration, she said, against the backdr of the recent tragedies in the Mediterranean, the EU will outline measures to strengthen the fight against human smuggling and to strengthen the EU's external borders. At the same time, the EU will continue to invest in economic develment in the countries of origin of illegal migration, which is a way to devel contacts between pele and undermine the basis of smugglers' activities.

As for ensuring the competitiveness of the EU economy, the President of the Eurean Commission emphasized that the main focus will be on reducing risks while maintaining economic ties with third countries.

Answering journalists' questions, Ursula von der Leyen called the Swedish EU Presidency, which is coming to an end this week, "excellent" and thanked the country's government for the progress made over the past six months.

As previously reported, the next EU summit is taking place in Brussels on June 29-30, with the situation in Ukraine and the EU's assistance in respecting its right to self-defense against Russian aggression again on the t of the agenda. President of Ukraine Vodymyr Zelensky will participate in the meeting of Eurean leaders via video conference.