Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, is in Berlin on a working visit as part of the interparliamentary network “United for Ukraine.”

“Together with the Chairs of the European Affairs Committees of Sweden and Poland, the Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Lithuania, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Estonia, and the Chair of the National Security and Defence Committee of Finland, we are undertaking a joint ‘United for Ukraine’ mission to Berlin to maximize the mobilization of additional support for Ukraine — primarily military support, but also support regarding our prospects for EU membership,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

During the first day of the visit, the delegation held meetings with experts, media representatives, and officials from the Ministry of Defence. At every meeting, the discussions focused on the need to strengthen military support for Ukraine — and the urgency of doing so. Ukraine currently serves as the EU’s first line of defence. Hybrid warfare is already underway on European territory; therefore, the stronger and more effective the support for Ukraine, the more secure the entire continent will be. “Today we spoke a great deal about the need to clearly define what hybrid threats are. They are often seen as soft threats, while in fact they are real attacks on Europe. We must move toward a different definition and learn how to respond to them — to respond with strength and unity to what the Russian Federation is doing, because it perceives any hesitation as a sign of weakness and will continue testing Europe and undermining it from within,” said Ivanna  Klympush-Tsintsadze.

The discussions also touched on the support of European partners for Ukraine’s European integration. It is crucial to remove external obstacles as quickly as possible — in particular, Hungary’s blocking of the accession talks. And here the key role must be played by the European Union itself, as the issue does not lie in the bilateral dimension of relations between Ukraine and Hungary. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze expressed hope that the process will nevertheless be unblocked and that opening accession negotiations with the EU will be possible before the end of this year.

The United for Ukraine network brings together Members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from democratic countries around the world to support Ukraine and strengthen its ability to withstand the aggressor.