Closing summary
The US has announced additional security assistance for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion valued at $150m (£124m), the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Pentagon said.
Russia has criticised Ukrainian-backed peace talks set to be held in Malta this weekend, warning any discussions without its participation would be counterproductive, AFP reported.
Ukraine said it planned to evacuate hundreds of children from communities near the north-eastern city of Kupiansk.
Sabotage of the Baltic connector gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia cannot be ruled out, Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said.
Slovakia’s new populist prime minister, Robert Fico, said his three-party coalition government was ending military aid to its eastern neighbour Ukraine, fulfilling one of his central campaign pledges. He said he had spoken to the head of the European Commission about his government’s move at a meeting before the bloc’s summit in Brussels.
Ukraine has suspended the use of its new Black Sea grain corridor due to what it sees as military risks, the Kyiv-based Barva Invest consultancy has said.
In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) reiterated some of the points western nations have been trying to claim about North Korea delivering arms to Russia for use in Ukraine. The MoD wrote: “Despite Russia’s official rejection of recent reports, it is almost certain that North Korean munitions have now reached ammunition depots in western Russia. These depots support Russian military operations in Ukraine.”
South Korea, Japan and the US have strongly condemned the supply of arms and military equipment by North Korea to Russia, saying they have confirmed “several” deliveries.
Updated
Slovakia’s new populist prime minister, Robert Fico, has said that he has “informed” the EU’s executive of his decision to stop military aid to Ukraine, the first such western reversal of backing for Kyiv.
AFP reports:
On Thursday, Fico said he had spoken to the head of the European Commission about his government’s move at a meeting before the bloc’s summit in Brussels.
In a Facebook post, Fico said Ursula von der Leyen respected “the sovereign right of member countries to support Ukraine militarily or not, and she appreciated our position on humanitarian aid”.
Earlier on Thursday, Fico told MPs that the country would “no longer supply weapons to Ukraine”, but would still supply humanitarian aid to its neighbour.
“I will support zero military aid to Ukraine … An immediate halt to military operations is the best solution we have for Ukraine. The EU should change from an arms supplier to a peacemaker,” he added.
Updated
