Ukraine confident of support as EU ministers visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told European Union ministers their support is needed. (EPA PHOTO)

European Union foreign ministers have convened in Kyiv for their first ever meeting outside the bloc, broadcasting their support for the country amid indications of international fatigue over the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine brushed off wobbles on both sides of the Atlantic, with the United States Congress leaving Ukraine war aid out of its spending bill and a candidate opposed to Ukrainian military aid winning an election in Slovakia.

"We don't feel that the US support has been shattered... because the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters as he greeted the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

As for the election victory of Slovakian former prime minister Robert Fico, Kuleba said it was "too early to judge" the effect on politics there, noting that a new leader would still have to form a coalition.

Monday's meeting in Kyiv was touted by Borrell as a historic first but it comes at an awkward time for the EU that has supported Ukraine.

The northern hemisphere summer is ending after a slower than expected Ukrainian military counter-offensive, without the major success that the country's allies had hoped to see before autumn mud clogs the treads of their donated tanks.

"I am sure that Ukraine and the entire free world are capable of winning this confrontation. But our victory depends directly on our co-operation with you," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the ministers, according to his website.

Borrell told a news briefing with Kuleba the EU remained united in its support for Ukraine and that he had proposed an EU spending package of up to 5 billion euros ($A8.20 billion) for 2024 which he hoped to have agreed by then.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for efforts to prepare Ukraine for the coming winter, including through air defence and guaranteed energy supplies, after Russian forces bombed Ukraine's energy infrastructure last year.

"Last winter, we saw the brutal way in which the Russian president is waging this war," Baerbock said. 

"We must prevent this together with everything we have, as far as possible."

Russia touted the congressional vote in the US - more than 19 months after the Russian invasion began - as a sign of increasing division among Ukraine's allies although the Kremlin said it expected the US to continue its support for Ukraine.

The omission of aid for Ukraine was "a temporary phenomenon. America will continue its involvement in this conflict, in fact direct involvement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"But we have repeatedly said before that according to our forecasts fatigue from this conflict, fatigue from the completely absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime, will grow in various countries, including the United States."

Elections are looming in several European countries as well as next year in the United States where former president Donald Trump is leading the Republican field in his bid to return to the White House. 

Several high profile Trump allies in Congress have called for a halt to Ukraine aid.

US President Joe Biden's administration says it expects the House to pass a measure to keep aid to Ukraine flowing. 

Kuleba said Ukraine had "a very in-depth discussion with both parts of the Congress - Republicans and Democrats," and expects aid to continue.

In Slovakia, former prime minister Fico won the most votes in an election on Sunday and will get a first chance to form a government. 

His campaign had called for "not a single round" of ammunition from Slovakia's reserves to be sent to Ukraine.

"We are not changing that we are prepared to help Ukraine in a humanitarian way," Fico said at a news conference after his victory. 

"We are prepared to help with the reconstruction of the state but you know our opinion on arming Ukraine."

with DPA

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