French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have arrived in Kyiv, a day after the United States announced $1 billion worth of new arms for embattled Ukrainian forces.
Kyiv’s troops are resisting a fierce onslaught in the Donbas region by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces, which are pushing to seize a swathe of eastern and southern Ukraine.
In a show of support, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are visiting the Ukrainian capital. The three leaders left Poland in the morning by train, according to an AFP video.
Asked by a journalist on arrival why he had come to Ukraine, Mr Macron said: “For a message of European unity.”
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, told German newspaper Bild this week he was concerned the three leaders would put pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace deal favourable to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“They will say that we need to end the war that is causing food problems and economic problems … that we need to save Mr Putin’s face,” he said, referring to comments by Mr Macron this month that it was vital not to humiliate the Russian leader.
Follow the latest updates below.
08:11 AM
European leaders arrive in Kyiv, in pictures
07:58 AM
10,000 civilians still in Severodonetsk: governor
Around 10,000 civilians are trapped in Ukraine’s eastern city of Severodonetsk, where intense fighting with Russia has raged for weeks, the local governor has said.
“Out of 100,000 residents, around 10,000 remain,” Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of the Lugansk region, said on Telegram. He said Kyiv’s army is “holding back the enemy as much as possible.”
07:43 AM
Japanese airline ditches ‘Z’ logo to avoid Russian military misunderstanding
Low-cost carrier Zipair Tokyo said Wednesday it will ditch its logo featuring the letter “Z,” a pro-war symbol often seen on Russian military vehicles, to avoid misunderstanding.
The president of the wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines told reporters at Narita Airport near Tokyo that some people might see the current logo as indicating that the company approves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I think some people might feel that way when they see it without any explanation,” Shingo Nishida said.
The new logo will be a geometric pattern in green, black and white, the company said.
07:29 AM
Russia, U.S. at ‘a very, very hot point of confrontation’ – Kremlin
Moscow and Washington are currently at “a very, very hot point of confrontation”, the RIA news agency said, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Mr Peskov said earlier on Thursday that Russia and the United States must discuss the extension of the START nuclear arms reduction treaty.
07:23 AM
Russia’s Donbas advance ‘increasingly ad hoc’ – MoD
06:55 AM
Deadly rocket strike hits Sumy
The governor of Ukraine’s Sumy region has said four people were killed and six wounded in an overnight rocket strike on the outskirts of Sumy city.
06:45 AM
Macron, Scholz and Draghi on train to Kyiv
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi left Poland on Thursday on a train bound for Kyiv.
The three leaders left in the morning, according to an AFP video, which showed the trio sitting together in a train compartment.
It is the first time that the leaders of the three European Union countries have visited Kyiv since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
They are due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the visit comes as Kyiv is pushing for membership of the EU.
06:16 AM
‘Drugged’ separatists used as ‘cannon fodder’
Russian-backed separatists fighting in Ukraine are suffering from staggering casualties, according to official figures, amid accusations that the Kremlin is using them as “cannon fodder”.
Moscow has not introduced mass mobilisation of the Russian population since the war began on February 24. However, forcible conscription has been in place for the two breakaway republics it supports in eastern Ukraine – the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
Families from the region have staged repeated protests over the “kidnapping” of their menfolk.
READ MORE: ‘Drugged’ separatists thrown into line of fire by Russia as ‘cannon fodder’
05:06 AM
Beijing expresses support for Russia
Russian forces continued to pressure Kyiv’s troops in Donbas, as Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone discussions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in which Xi expressed support for Russia’s “sovereignty and security”.
Putin underscored that he was not as isolated internationally as his foes would wish with a call with Xi, their second reported call since Russian attacked Ukraine on February 24.
The Kremlin said that the two leaders agreed to ramp up economic cooperation in the face of “unlawful” Western sanctions.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Xi told Putin that Beijing is “willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security”.
China has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by criticising Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.
05:04 AM
Biden: Ukrainian people continue ‘to inspire the world’
Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that “the United States will stand by Ukraine as it defends its democracy, and support its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression”.
“The bravery, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world,” the US President said in a phone call on Wednesday.
Mr Biden announced $1 billion worth of new arms for Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said later in his evening address to the people of Ukraine that he was grateful for the package.
“The United States announced new strengthening of our defence, a new $1 billion support package,” he said.
“I am grateful for this support, it is especially important for our defence in Donbas.”
The newest US arms package features 18 more 155mm Howitzers and 36,000 rounds of ammunition for them; two land-based Harpoon anti-ship missile systems; and additional rockets for four Himars precision rocket artillery systems that Ukraine is soon to put in the field.
02:43 AM
US to provide $1bn in arms for Ukraine
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US President Joe Biden announced $1 billion worth of new arms for Ukraine on Wednesday as Pentagon officials defended the pace and quality of supplies as meeting Kyiv’s battlefield needs
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Ukrainian troops shelled Russian targets on the front lines in the eastern Donbas region with newly arrived French Caesar howitzers
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Kyiv officials met in Brussels with Western allies, hoping to obtain more ammunition and lethal weapons to turn the tables on the invaders
02:18 AM
View from the window: All that remains of families’ homes
02:13 AM
Calls for captured US fighters to be treated fairly
Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh “have enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and thus are afforded legal combatant protections”, American politician Adam Kinzinger tweeted.
“As such, we expect members of the Legion to be treated in accordance with the Geneva convention.”
It was unclear whether Mr Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, had any further information about the men.
He was commenting on a tweet sent earlier on Wednesday by Task Force Baguette – a group of former US and French servicemen – saying that two Americans fighting with them were captured a week ago.
The group said Ukrainian intelligence confirmed the information.
These men have enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and thus are afforded legal combatant protections. As such, we expect members of the Legion to be treated in accordance with the Geneva convention. #UkraineArmy https://t.co/8eJmaSPmZ2
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) June 15, 2022
02:05 AM
‘Ukraine is not the place for Americans’
John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said on Wednesday that the administration was not able to confirm the reports about missing Americans.
“We’ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it,” he said.
However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine.
“Ukraine is not the place for Americans to be travelling,” he said.
“If you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, there’s any number of ways to do that that that are safer and just as effective.”
02:02 AM
Two US veterans reported missing in Ukraine
Two US veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia have not been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state’s congressional delegation said on Wednesday.
Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa had been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men’s whereabouts, press aides said.
Rep. Robert Aderholt said Mr Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives had not heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border.
Mr Huynh and Mr Drueke were together, an aide to Mr Aderholt said: “As you can imagine, his loved ones are very concerned about him.
“My office has placed inquires with both the United States Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to get any information possible.”
Rep. Terri Sewell said Mr Drueke’s mother reached out to her office earlier this week after she lost contact with her son.
EXCLUSIVE: US fighters ‘captured’ by Russian forces in Ukraine
