On 19 March 2024, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden held talks.

The parties discussed Ukraine’s European integration aspirations, Luxembourg’s humanitarian assistance and military cooperation between the two countries.

Denys Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine was fighting for freedom and at the same time taking steps to join the EU.

“We are keeping up the pace of European integration. We have implemented 11 key recommendations of the European Commission, obtained the EU negotiating framework and are preparing to open pre-accession negotiations. Our ambition is to move faster than any country that has done so before. In this context, the support of Luxembourg, as a founding member of the European Union, is extremely important to us,” the Head of Ukrainian Government noted, expressing hope for further solidarity and maximum support on this path.

Denys Shmyhal thanked for the assistance provided by Luxembourg since the first days of the full-scale invasion. In particular, Luxembourg has facilitated the approval of the Ukraine Facility programme and expressed its intention to contribute to Ukraine’s recovery.

“Luxembourg has shown interest in the reconstruction of Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk region, a powerful industrial centre of our country. This is a very positive example and we expect the implementation of the projects to start soon,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine stressed.

Denys Shmyhal emphasised the importance of cooperation between the countries in the military sphere.

“We appreciate Luxembourg’s co-chairing of the IT coalition, its active participation in the drone, demining and artillery coalitions, and its joining the F-16 coalition. We have room to deepen cooperation. This will strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities and bring us closer to defeating the enemy,” Denys Shmyhal is convinced.

The prime ministers also discussed the sanctions policy against russia.

“Our common task is to cut off all ways of financing russia’s aggressive war,” said Denys Shmyhal.

Another topic of the talks was the confiscation of frozen russian assets.

“According to preliminary data, more than EUR 6 billion of russian funds are held in Luxembourg. Our principled position is that these funds should work for Ukraine right now,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine stressed.

The Head of Ukrainian Government thanked Luxembourg for supporting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula and readiness to join the implementation of the paragraph on punishing russia for its crimes.

“Preparations are underway for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. We expect more than 100 countries to participate. I am confident that Luxembourg will make a significant contribution to this major forum, which will bring us closer to a just peace and global security,” Denys Shmyhal said.

Following the meeting, the Prime Ministers approved a joint statement.