Ukraine updates: Kyiv's troops pull out of eastern village

French President Emmanuel Macron said that sending Western troops to Ukraine is not being ruled out, adding "we will do everything needed so Russia cannot win the war."

Macron spoke after a meeting on Ukraine in Paris brought together over 20 European heads of state and government and other Western officials in Paris.

Ukraine has received less than a third of the one million artillery shells the European Union promised to deliver, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"Out of the million shells that the European Union promised us, not 50% came, but 30%, unfortunately," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov in Kyiv.

The EU made the pledge last year, but acknowledged in January that it would be able to deliver only half of the initial 1 million shells that were to be delivered by March.

Ukraine urged the EU earlier this month to take "urgent steps" to increase deliveries by easing regulations and signing contracts with defense companies.

Speaking at a conference in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was a consensus among European countries that they should be prepared for a possible attack by Russia in the coming years and that more efforts were needed to help Ukraine financially and militarily.

"The general realization today is that the security of all of us is at stake," Macron told about 20 world leaders at the Elysee Palace. The meeting was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, among others.

"I have noted that more or less all the countries represented around this table have said... that the common consensus was that we should be ready in a few years' time, for Russia to attack these countries," Macron said in opening remarks.

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, Macron said Moscow's behaviour was becoming more aggressive on the political level and on the front lines.

"Russia must not win the war," Macron emphasized, saying support could not be allowed to waver and that Ukraine's backers must intensify efforts.

Increased aid for Ukraine with money and weapons must be mobilized both jointly and at the national level, he said. "We are in the process of ensuring our security today and tomorrow," said Macron.

Addressing the leaders via videolink, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy backed Macron's warning about an escalation of the conflict: "We must ensure that Putin cannot destroy our achievements and cannot expand his aggression to other nations."

Hungary's parliament has voted in favor of Sweden's bid to join NATO.

Only a handful of MPs opposed the motion after Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government allowed it to come to a vote after months of delay. The motion passed with 188 votes in favor and six against.

"Today is a historic day. The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favor of Swedish accession to NATO. Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on social media soon after the vote. 

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs posted on social media, "Hungary has a vested interest in Europe's security, and I am sure, that in Sweden we have a strong and reliable ally who will benefit the future of NATO for the better."

Budapest was the last obstacle to Sweden's NATO accession since Turkey ratified it in January.

Unanimous support from all existing members is required for new countries to join the military alliance.

You can read the full article on this topic by clicking here.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholzon Monday commented further on why he opposes sending Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, fearing an escalation of the conflict.

Scholz said the Taurus is "a very far-reaching weapon," adding: "What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany. Everyone who has dealt with this system knows that."

The UK and France have since last year supplied Kyiv with the Storm Shadow and Scalp long-range missiles systems respectively.

Scholz also said that the German debate over Taurus had lost sight of what Ukraine actually needs, saying "What Ukraine is missing is ammunition at all possible... ranges, but not decisively this thing from Germany."

"We must at no point and in no place be linked to targets this [Taurus] system reaches," Scholz said. "This clarity is necessary. I am surprised that this doesn't move some people, that they don't even think about whether, as it were, a participation in the war could emerge from what we do."

He published similar comments in writing on social media, saying that while Germany was Ukraine's biggest provider of military aid in Europe (at least in overall terms) and would remain so, another thing was also clear: "We will not become a party to the war, neither directly nor indirectly." 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that it was his "assumption" that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed by the Russian regime.

"It was the Russian regime that killed Alexei Navalny - that's my assumption," Scholz wrote on social media.

"His death is the consequence of a dictatorship, in which people who rebel against the president and the government have to fear for their freedom and their lives." 

Navalny was Russia's foremost opposition figure and vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 47-year-old was serving a three-decade prison sentence. Russian authorities say he died at an Arctic penal colony on February 16.

The British defense ministry said in an intelligence update that it expects Russia to continue using energy as a weapon.

"Russia's weaponization of energy will likely remain a coercive instrument, demonstrating the links between Russia's security and energy policy," the ministry said.

The ministry said that Russia had made use of "kinetic strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure" that had caused "widespread electricity shortages" in Ukraine.

Moscow also "sought to undermine unity across Europe against Russia's illegal war" by restricting gas exports, it said.

Ukraine said Monday it had pulled out its troops from the settlement of Lastochkyne in eastern Ukraine to improve its defenses against a Russian advance west.

"Ukrainian Armed Forces units withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne to organize defenses along the line of Orlivka, Tonenke, Berdychi," Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said.

At the same time, Russia said its troops had captured Lastochkyne, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the key town of Avdiivka, which was seized by Russian forces a week ago.

"In the area of Avdiivka, units ... liberated the village of Lastochkino and continued to improve the situation along the front line," the Russian Defense Ministry said, referring to the village by its Russian name.

The Russian advance comes as Ukrainian troops are hampered by a lack of ammunition and weapons amid a faltering supply from Western allies. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is to host a conference in Paris at which European leaders will discuss their support of Ukraine.

The gathering comes amid fears that help from the US could falter.

Macron is likely to also use the conference to plead for more European autonomy in security matters, something he championed even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched two years ago.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda will be among some 20 European heads of state and government attending the conference. A video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to open the meeting.

The United States and Canada will also be represented.

The French presidency says the meeting will "examine all means to support Ukraine effectively" as Kyiv's troops begin to run out of weapons and ammunition.

This plight has been exacerbated as US Republicans continue to block approval of a major new aid package for Ukraine.

The prospect that Donald Trump might return to the White House in elections later this year has also increased concerns that Washington's aid to Ukraine might wane in the long term.
     
The Paris meeting is due to start at 1600 GMT/UTC, with a news conference expected from Macron several hours later.

Ukrainian authorities say Russian troops shot dead seven Ukrainian prisoners of war on Saturday near the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut.

In a post on Telegram on Sunday evening, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinez referred to a video recording showing Ukrainian soldiers "with their hands up" as they surrendered. 

"The Russians were supposed to take them prisoner, but instead shot them mercilessly," he said.

The report could not be initially verified independently.

Hungarian lawmakers are expected to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO on Monday in a long-delayed vote.

Hungary is the only one of the 31 NATO member states that has not yet approved Swedish membership in the military alliance, despite vows by Prime Minister Viktor Orban that it would not be the last to do so. Complete unanimity of all members is required for a new state to join.

The reasons given for the delay have been various and vague. Recently, the right-wing Hungarian government, which maintains friendly relations with Russia, said it felt "insulted" by Swedish criticism of the state of the rule of law in Hungary.

Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland in May 2022, but, unlike its neighbor, which was admitted in April last year, has faced a struggle to gain ratification from Turkey and Hungary.

Ankara dropped its objections in January, leaving Budapest holding out alone. 

On Friday, Orban and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson finally announced an agreement under which Hungary will buy four new Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets.

tj/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)