03:20Belgrade or Belgorof? EU's top diplomat Borrell perplexed by question on Russia's Belgorod incident
EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief Josep Borrell appeared perplexed by a journalist's question about the current situation in Belgorod, confusing it with both Belgrade and 'Belgorof', during a press conference in Brussels on Monday.
"I don't know what it is about Belgrade", said Borrell, before the journalist corrected him: "Belgorod, Belgorod in Russia. Belgorod Oblast."
"Why don’t you tell me what is happening in Belgorof?" he replied after a short pause. "I don't know what is happening in Belgrade or Belgorof. I don't know".
During the press conference, Borrell also referred to the different ways in which the European Union had collaborated with Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.
"Member States have supplied 220,000 artillery rounds of various calibres and 1,300 missiles. Given that this first lane will be open until May 31, I believe that we may have met the target of allocating one billion euros to this objective. So far, what has already been delivered, we value at 800 million euros," he stated.
Borrell added that eight of the 24 EU countries had joined the initiative to expand the production of 155-mm artillery shells, for which 1 billion euros had been allocated. The European Union has already provided Ukraine with 65 billion euros in various forms of assistance.
Russia's Belgorod province, some 600 km from Moscow, has been a frontline region during the conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
During the early hours of Monday, the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed that a Ukrainian 'sabotage group' had entered Russian territory in the Grayvoron district. Two pro-Ukrainian groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Russian Freedom Legion, later claimed involvement.
Advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kiev was 'not directly related' to the events on the border.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
03:20EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief Josep Borrell appeared perplexed by a journalist's question about the current situation in Belgorod, confusing it with both Belgrade and 'Belgorof', during a press conference in Brussels on Monday.
"I don't know what it is about Belgrade", said Borrell, before the journalist corrected him: "Belgorod, Belgorod in Russia. Belgorod Oblast."
"Why don’t you tell me what is happening in Belgorof?" he replied after a short pause. "I don't know what is happening in Belgrade or Belgorof. I don't know".
During the press conference, Borrell also referred to the different ways in which the European Union had collaborated with Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.
"Member States have supplied 220,000 artillery rounds of various calibres and 1,300 missiles. Given that this first lane will be open until May 31, I believe that we may have met the target of allocating one billion euros to this objective. So far, what has already been delivered, we value at 800 million euros," he stated.
Borrell added that eight of the 24 EU countries had joined the initiative to expand the production of 155-mm artillery shells, for which 1 billion euros had been allocated. The European Union has already provided Ukraine with 65 billion euros in various forms of assistance.
Russia's Belgorod province, some 600 km from Moscow, has been a frontline region during the conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
During the early hours of Monday, the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed that a Ukrainian 'sabotage group' had entered Russian territory in the Grayvoron district. Two pro-Ukrainian groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Russian Freedom Legion, later claimed involvement.
Advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kiev was 'not directly related' to the events on the border.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.