Russia Ukraine war live: ‘Nato and EU countries considering sending soldiers to Kyiv’

Several NATO and European Union members are considering sending soldiers to Ukraine according to the prime minister of Slovakia.

Robert Fico – who has opposed sending military supplies to Ukraine – was speaking ahead of a meeting of European leaders in Paris on Monday.

“I will limit myself to say that these theses (in preparation for the Paris meeting) imply a number of NATO and EU member states are considering that they will send their troops to Ukraine on a bilateral basis,” Fico told a televised briefing following a meeting of Slovakia’s security council.

“I cannot say for what purpose and what they should be doing there,” he said, adding that Slovakia, a member of the EU and NATO, would not be sending soldiers to Ukraine.

Fico said he saw a risk of a large escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, and that more information could not be revealed to the public.

Although members of NATO have supplied billions in arms to Kyiv, leaders have stated they are avoiding a direct conflict with Russia.

When asked about the comments, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said: “The Czech Republic certainly is not preparing to send any soldiers to Ukraine, nobody has to worry about that.”

NATO had no immediate comment on Fico’s remarks.

Askold Krushelnycky meets members of a battalion in eastern Ukraine using 3D-printed explosive casings to build ‘bomber’ drones to take out artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks

Half of Western arms deliveries are being delayed and the hold-up is putting lives and territories at risk, Ukraine’s defence minister has warned as soldiers blamed a crippling lack of ammunition on Kyiv’s withdrawal from the key town of Avdiivka.

Speaking from the Ukrainian capital at an event to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Rustem Umerov said in the “mathematics of war” there are deadly consequences when promised military support “does not constitute delivery”.

He said it was also unprecedented in history that a country was expected to fight against an enemy with such a discrepancy in air power and military budget. It comes just a week after Kyiv was forced to pull its forces out of Avdiivka in the east of the country.

Germany’s foreign minister was forced to abandon a diplomatic trip to Ukraine on Sunday after a drone hovered above her.

Annalena Baerbock was visiting a waterworks facility in Mykolayiv to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

However, a Russian drone was spotted nearby forcing her to leave the scene and drive west to Moldova, according to German broadcaster ZDF.

At least 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed fighting back against the Russian invasion that began two years ago, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, providing the first official death toll from Kyiv in more than a year.

“31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000… (Russian president Vladimir) Putin is lying there… But nevertheless, this is a big loss for us,” he said in a news conference at the Ukraine Year Forum in Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky said Russia’s casualties – both injured and dead – during the invasion stood at 500,000, of which 180,000 were Russian soldiers killed in the war, according to Kyiv’s estimates.

Russian officials have claimed to have destroyed a US-supplied Abrams tank in Ukraine for the first time.

The US began supplying the tanks to Ukrainian forces last September, sparking claims from Russian officials that the tanks would “burn”.

“From the very beginning, our soldiers said that these tanks would burn just like others,” state news agency RIA quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying – referring to previous instances where Russia says it has destroyed Western weaponry in Ukraine.

Reuters could not immediately verify a video published on social media that purported to show an Abrams on fire.

Germany’s Foreign minister was forced to cut her trip in southern Ukraine short on Sunday as a Russian drone continuously hovered nearby.

Annalena Baerbock was visiting a waterworks facility in Mykolayiv to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

However, a Russian drone was spotted nearby forcing her to leave the scene, according to German broadcaster ZDF.

It came after she pledged an £85 million aid package for Ukraine and said Germany is “racking our brains” to find a way to deliver more aid.

Russian officials have claimed to have destroyed a US-supplied Abrams tank in Ukraine for the first time.

The US began supplying the tanks to Ukrainian forces last September, sparking claims from Russian officials that the tanks would “burn”.

“From the very beginning, our soldiers said that these tanks would burn just like others,” state news agency RIA quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying – referring to previous instances where Russia says it has destroyed Western weaponry in Ukraine.

Reuters could not immediately verify a video published on social media that purported to show an Abrams on fire.