During a visit to Lisbon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba held talks with Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs João Gomes Cravinho and Minister of Defence Helena Carreiras.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy told his Portuguese partners in detail about the situation at the frontline and outlined Ukraine’s military needs for effective defence and counter-offensive operations.

“Portugal has demonstrated leadership by joining the tank coalition. Given the intensification of russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages, it is critically important that Ukraine has the ability to throw russia out of the Ukrainian sky,” the Minister stressed.

In this regard, Dmytro Kuleba expressed his gratitude to the Government of Portugal for its decision to join the aviation coalition by training Ukrainian pilots and mechanics on Western-type combat aircraft.

The Portuguese side also reaffirmed its readiness to continue supporting Ukraine on its path to EU membership.

The Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Portugal coordinated their positions in the context of preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Dmytro Kuleba stressed the importance of NATO leaders making a political decision to determine the algorithm of Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

The Ministers also discussed holding russia and its leadership accountable for crimes against Ukraine, including the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression.

Dmytro Kuleba also paid special attention to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula as a way to establish a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and to broaden the circle of support for it, in particular through the involvement of the Global South countries.