European leaders meet in Paris to strengthen Ukraine at ‘critical moment’

European leaders were expected to meet in Paris on Monday in an effort to show unity and determination in their support for Ukraine, as the embattled country faces a dire situation on the battlefield against Russia and in Washington, where Republicans in Congress are seeking much-needed financial block help. .

The meeting, convened by President Emmanuel Macron of France, is expected to include about twenty heads of state and top officials, including from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine will attend the evening meeting by video conference.

“We are at a critical moment,” Macron said on Saturday during a visit to a major agricultural fair in Paris, adding that the meeting would “strengthen our position” and give Ukraine more “visibility” for the coming months.

“Russia cannot win in Ukraine,” he added.

A senior French presidency official, speaking on condition of anonymity, in line with French government practice, said the meeting was not expected to end with concrete announcements of new military aid.

Instead, the official said it was aimed at boosting support for Ukraine, better coordinating aid and sending a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that Europe was determined to see him fail.

There are growing concerns in Europe that little has been done so far to thwart Mr Putin. Russia captured the eastern city of Avdiivka, once a Ukrainian stronghold, about a week ago in its biggest battlefield victory in months.

Since then, the country has continued attacks along its 600-mile (1,000 km) front line, seizing small villages in the east and threatening to retake land in the south that was heavily captured by Ukraine during the summer counter-offensive.

Mr. Zelenskiy said on Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began two years ago, acknowledging for the first time a concrete figure for Ukraine’s toll in the war. But his figure is much lower than US estimates, which put the death toll at around 70,000.

Military experts and Ukrainian officials say Ukrainian forces are hampered by shortages of ammunition and weapons, largely due to declining Western military aid, and that the situation will worsen if Ukraine does not receive more support soon.

“The coming months will be difficult for us,” Mr. Zelensky said at a news conference in Kiev on Sunday, noting that political wrangling in Congress, where a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine has stalled, has affected the position of undermined his country. war effort.

President Biden will meet with congressional leaders on Tuesday to try to unblock emergency aid to Ukraine, the White House said.

Referring to US lawmakers, Mr Zelensky said: “They know we need support within a month.” He praised Europe’s efforts to help fill the void left by the United States, saying the continent “has shown its ability to be a leader.”

Aid pledges from European Union countries and institutions total nearly $150 billion, more than twice the amount pledged by the United States, the report said. Kiel Institute for the World Economya research organization.

European leaders have shown increasing willingness to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia as the war rages on and additional U.S. aid is in doubt.

The prime ministers of Belgium, Denmark and Italy, as well as the head of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, recently visited Ukraine to mark the second anniversary of the war and to express their continued support.

Denmark and Italy have completed bilateral security deals with Ukraine, bringing to five the number of European countries that have signed such agreements with Kiev in an effort to deter further Russian aggression.

Yet it is unclear to what extent Europe can replace the United States as a guarantor of Ukraine’s ability to fight. The Kiel Institute said European Union members and institutions had so far allocated only half of the $150 billion pledged.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said on Sunday that every time aid did not arrive on time, “we lose people, we lose areas.”

Mr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that four brigades had not taken part in Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive because the army had not received the necessary equipment.

“Can you imagine how many guys would have fought but couldn’t?” he asked. “The ones who had to wait for the equipment they never got?”