This Monday, February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron leads a meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris attended by 20 leaders of European nations. The meeting was called in the midst of what Elysée advisors consider an escalation of Russian aggression. Prior to the meeting, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, assured that some allies of the European Union and NATO are studying the possibility of sending troops to the invaded country. Meanwhile, Moscow claimed the capture of the village of Lastochkine, near the recently taken city of Avdiivka, in the east of the attacked nation.
“Today everyone's security is at stake,” said the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, at the opening of a summit in support of kyiv taking place in Paris. The event is attended by more than 20 European leaders and seeks to counter the Kremlin's narrative, which claims to be close to winning a war that is entering its third year.
“We want to send (Vladimir) Putin a very clear message that he will not win in Ukraine (…) Our objective is to crush this idea that he wants us to believe that he would somehow be winning,” stressed an advisor to the French Presidency.
The meeting is attended by the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Cameron; the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. The leaders of Scandinavian and Baltic countries are also present.
The United States will be represented by the Undersecretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Jim O'Brien, and Canada, by the Minister of Defense, Bill Blair. In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to give a speech at the meeting.
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Macron summoned his European allies at short notice due to what his advisers say is an escalation of Russian aggression, seen in recent weeksafter the capture of the city of Avdiivka, on February 17.
Although this is Moscow's first victory in nine months, in the midst of a dynamic that has plunged the conflict into a war of attrition, Russian troops are reviving their occupation ambitions.
Read alsoTwo years of conflict: these are the keys that mark the course of the war in Ukraine
In fact, In the last hours, the forces of the invading country demanded the capture of the village of Lastochkine near Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine. The kyiv Army admitted that it withdrew from the scene.
Ukraine is urging its allies to deliver more weapons and ammunition, as well as other crucial items such as fighter jets, to strengthen its air operations, where it is at a disadvantage.
However, the French Government advisor maintained that this Monday's meeting will not be an occasion to announce new deliveries of weapons to the attacked country, but rather to evaluate ways to be more efficient on the ground and increase coordination between allies and kyiv.
“We have to be able to deliver more shells. The principle is that shells will be purchased where they are available (…) There is no dogmatic (French) position,” added the advisor.
Ammunition supply remains a critical issue for the Ukrainian Army on the front lines. However, the European Union (EU) is not meeting its goal of shipping one million artillery shells by March. Faced with this scenario, the president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, is promoting an initiative to obtain ammunition from other countries and deliver urgent aid to the forces of the invaded nation.
Slovakia says some Western states are considering sending troops to Ukraine
With the recent captures of Ukrainian territories, the Russian military is highlighting its advantages in numbers of troops and ammunition, just when the war has just begun its third year.
The lack of soldiers is also an Achilles heel for the Ukrainian Army, which is fighting to maintain the sovereignty of its country. Given the need for new recruitments, in a country that has a population three times smaller than that of Russia, Some EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are considering separately sending troops to Ukraine, as stated this Monday by the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.
“I will limit myself to saying that these theses imply that several NATO and EU member states are considering sending their troops to Ukraine bilaterally,” said Fico, prior to the allies' conference in Paris.
The Slovak leader, who constantly opposes military aid to kyiv and whose positions have been considered pro-Russian, confirmed that his Government would not participate in the eventual sending of soldiers.
“I can't say for what purpose and what they should be doing there,” Fico said, adding that he sees the risk of a major escalation of the war on Ukrainian territory. Furthermore, he maintained that the meeting called by Macron would show that the West's strategy on Ukraine has failed.
Zelensky: Russia would launch a new offensive in May
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's remarks came on Sunday, a day after his country and the West commemorated the start of the ongoing invasion.
According to the president, Moscow would launch the new offensive at the end of May or next summerbut warned that his Army has a clear plan for the battlefield.
However, he urged maintaining a united front between Western allies and kyiv. Furthermore, he reiterated that Ukraine's victory depends on the continued support of the United States and Europe.
“We will prepare for their attack. I believe that their attack that began on October 8 has not yielded any results. We, for our part, will prepare our plan and follow it,” he declared, referring to the most recent large-scale offensive by from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the loss of human life on Ukrainian territory continues. Zelensky pointed out that 31,000 soldiers from his country have died since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. This is the first official death toll in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces provided by the president in more than two years of war. Although Moscow has assured that the figure could be much higher.
The president added that troop rotation will be vital to the war effort and emphasized that his Army needs to better prepare its reserve forces.
A report from 'The New York Times' last August, which cited US officials, estimated that around 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in this conflict.
The same report indicated that up to 120,000 Russian soldiers had died during the war.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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