Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Macron hosts Zelensky and Starmer in Paris as we speak amid North Korea troop surge
Emmanuel Macron is meeting Volodymyr Zelensky and Keir Starmer along with dozens of EU leaders in Paris today to discuss how to strengthen military support for Ukraine, review ceasefire efforts, and assess what role they could play if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
This comes as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un sent nearly 3,000 more troops to Russia this year to aid Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, South Korea’s military said in its latest assessment this morning.
Additionally, North Korea has also sent more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia in a move that can increase Moscow’s weapons supplies further depending on the war situation, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The French president warned that European troops deployed to Ukraine would respond to a Russian attack on the eve of a meeting in Paris between European members of the “coalition of the willing”.
“If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” he said.
Kharkiv hit by massive Russian drone attack
Russian forces launched a mass drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, late last night, injuring nine people and causing considerable damage, emergency services and officials said.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there had been at least 12 drone strikes on the city, a frequent target of Russia’s military, located some 30km (18 miles) from the border.
A drone attack also triggered fires in the central city of Dnipro, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Pictures posted online showed smoke and flames drifting skyward.
Zelensky says Witkoff comments ‘very disturbing’ for Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is very disturbed by US envoy Steve Witkoff for his inappropriate comment that the war-hit nation “want” to be ruled by Russia.
“Witkoff’s statements are very disturbing to us,” Mr Zelensky said.
“Because we are fighting (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we really do not want him to have many assistants. This is definitely difficult for us, because we are already fighting a country that is 40 times larger in terms of territory — smaller in terms of dignity,” the Ukrainian president said.
The US Middle East envoy told far-right American commentator Tucker Carlson that Ukrainians living under Russian occupation “want” to be ruled by Russia, in what appears to be him parroting Kremlin talking points as justification for the illegal annexation of Ukrainian land.
Ukrainian F-16s spying on Russia’s air defences – report
Ukraine’s Lockheed Martin F-16s are using their aerial abilities to monitor Russia’s air defences, reported Forbes.
Last month, Ukraine received a first batch of French Mirage 2000 fighter jets as well as US-made F-16 fighters from the Netherlands.
The first batch of US-delivered F-16 fighter jets were first inducted into the Ukrainian Air Force in August last year.
“We constantly perform flights for aerial reconnaissance,” an unnamed pilot told Forbes in a recent interview. “We perform flights for electronic reconnaissance,” he specified.
The jets are being used to “shoot down Russian attack drones, jamming Russian radars with their underslung electronic warfare pods, dropping precision bombs—sometimes ‘through someone’s window,’ an anonymous pilot said.
EU will maintain sanctions on Russia despite Moscow asking US for relief
The European Union will likely continue to sanction Russia for its war on Ukraine even as Moscow is seeking concessions from western nations as precondition for ceasefire over Black Sea.
Any sanction Russia wants removed will only be done in the event Russian ends its war on Ukraine, European Commission’s foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.
The EU would consider lifting or amending sanctions against Russia if Russia “end[s] its unprovoked aggression in Ukraine” and “unconditonal[ly] withdraw[s]” all Russian forces from Ukraine, she said.
Macron to discuss peacekeeping forces in Ukraine at summit
French president Emmaneul Macron is set to discuss European peacekeeping reassurance forces in Ukraine after the war is over with Volodymyr Zelensky today in Paris.
A concept paper for the summit seen by Reuters refers to a possible future reassurance force in Ukraine away from the frontline “as part of a future peace settlement and with support of the United States”.
A reassurance force positioned in Ukraine would aim to offer security guarantees and deter future aggression from Russia.
“The objective is to allow Ukraine to keep the situation on the ground and resist the Russian aggression, while building the credible elements to this lasting peace,” Macron said.
What is the Black Sea ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine – and will Putin honour it?
It is not the full ceasefire Donald Trump is continuing to push for three years into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but the move is seen as progress by the White House.
A US delegation held separate talks with counterparts from Russia and Ukraine over three days into Tuesday.
The talks with Kyiv came on either side of a marathon 12-hour discussion with Kremlin representatives on Monday, which was described by a Russian official as “challenging” but “useful”.
North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia, claims South Korea
North Korea sent nearly 3,000 more troops to Russia in January and February to support Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, South Korea’s military said in its latest assessment this morning.
North Korea has also sent more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The military equipment sent to Russia includes a “considerable amount” of short-range ballistic missiles, 170mm self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240mm multiple rocket launchers.
Since last October, North Korea has allegedly sent around 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the Joint Chiefs assessed that around 4,000 of them have been killed or injured.
Ukraine’s allies meet today with new aid and security assurances on agenda
Some 30 leaders will meet in Paris today to discuss with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky how to strengthen military support, review ceasefire efforts and assess what role they could play if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
The third summit of what France has called the coalition of the “willing and able” brings together the likes of Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkish vice president Cevdet Yilmaz.
“First and foremost (we will discuss) the immediate support for Ukraine. It must go on because it is necessary to continue the resistance,” president Emmanuel Macron told reporters on last evening at a press conference with Mr Zelensky.
Mr Macron committed to a further €2bn in French military support to Ukraine. Mr Zelensky said other partners could announce aid packages today.
‘A deal with Putin is an illusion’: Ukrainian officials warn Russia making ‘mockery’ of ceasefire talks
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered by the United States last week, and conditions set by the Kremlin have cast a shadow over a planned ceasefire in the Black Sea announced on Tuesday.
Three days of talks culminated in an agreement to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea and to continue working towards a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. But hours after the latest agreement, Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, which provides the country with access to the Black Sea.
Russia’s ceasefire delays suit Ukraine – if it survives another year, Kyiv can win the war
Vladimir Putin’s latest demand is that Russia’s agricultural sector be allowed to use the Swift banking system as a reward for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing it to move its grain and other farming exports.
The move is a sleight of hand to end the banking sanctions imposed by the US and Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source: independent.co.uk
