Von der Leyen to Ukraine’s new prime minister: “You can count on our full support”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a phone call with Ukraine’s new Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky, during which they discussed the country’s preparations for winter and weapons production for Kyiv.

She announced this on the social network X.

Von der Leyen described the conversation as “very good” and said the EU would continue to “work closely” on reforms advancing Ukraine’s process of joining the European Union.

“Our drone deal will harness the EU’s industrial power to produce Ukraine’s most innovative defense equipment faster and at greater scale. We also discussed winter preparedness and critical energy infrastructure. You can count on our full support, including your work to improve governance in the energy sector,” von der Leyen wrote.

On July 15, von der Leyen promised to provide Ukraine with “safe and reliable production sites” for the manufacture of drones, called Ukraine a “security provider” for Europe, and announced the launch of a “new partnership” in the field of defense industry.

On that same day, July 15, the leader of the Ukrainian parliamentary faction Servant of the People, David Arakhamia, said that the coming winter would be the hardest for Ukraine. The head of the Union of Utility Consumers of Ukraine, Oleg Popenko, in turn, warned that Ukrainians would go without electricity for days and weeks at a time during the coming winter.

Von der Leyen had previously also reacted to the appointment of Ukraine’s new prime minister.