EU Leaders Discuss More Military Aid to Ukraine (Worthy News Radio)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – European Union leaders began meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and how to continue to support the war-torn nation, including with massive military aid.
Thursday’s EU gathering, which the United Nations secretary general attended, came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front lines and recaptured territories. The EU’s European Council began meeting at a time of Western concerns that China may provide lethal aid to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine.
Yet at the same time, EU leaders were due to agree on sending 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine within the next 12 months. The plan also leaves the possibility that the EU could help countries collectively buy missiles for Ukraine.
Beijing has so far not publicly committed to providing military support to Russia and instead offered a 12-point plan to end the war, starting with a ceasefire and peace talks.
However, European Council President Charles Michel noted that the Chinese peace plan does not demand Russian troops to withdraw from Ukrainian territories. “This peace plan is not what we believe in because we believe in the peace formula proposed by [Ukrainian] President Zelensky, which is based on the UN charter, the international law, and the multilateral approach,” he said.
“We want to support Ukraine and to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. This is very clear. There is no doubt that there is no intention to attack Russia,” Michel stressed.
Michel said he had recently spoken with Chinese leader Xi-Jinping who was in Moscow this week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
PRESIDENT VISITING FRONT
As the European Council gathered to discuss new strategies for tackling the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southern region of Kherson.
He toured local infrastructure that he promised to restore after Russia’s invasion. The visit to a region where Ukraine staged a successful counteroffensive against Russian forces late last year was his second outside Kyiv this week.
On Wednesday, he visited troops near the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut.
The respected Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, suggested that Russia’s months-long ground assault on the eastern town could be stalling in the face of fierce resistance.
However, the institute warned that while Russian operations around Bakhmut appear to be slowing, “Russian forces may be attempting to launch offensives in other directions.”
The human suffering continues, too, with at least one person reportedly being killed and 33 wounded by a twin Russian missile strike on two residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine’s east.
MORE DEATHS REPORTED
Earlier, authorities said at least eight people were killed overnight in a drone attack on the city of Rzhyshchiv in the Kyiv region.
Moscow has denied wrongdoing blaming the West instead of escalating the situation.
In his latest assessment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lashed out at Britain for pledging to provide tank shells made with depleted uranium to Ukraine.
He said Britain’s decision took the situation to new and dangerous levels and that Moscow would not leave this new reality unanswered.
It came as Prince William became the first British royal to meet soldiers in Poland since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.
He traveled to Warsaw this week as part of a two-day trip to Poland to thank British and Polish troops for their efforts in supporting Ukraine and learn more about how the country cares for displaced Ukrainian refugees.
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