The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania have met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv to reassure Ukraine of Europe's solidarity in the face of Moscow's aggression as fighting raged in the Donbas, where Russian forces continued to step up their assault on the key city of Syevyerodonetsk.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis shook hands with Zelenskiy on June 16 before starting talks believed to be centered around Ukraine's repeated pleas for more advanced heavy weapons that could help its beleaguered forces stave off the Russian onslaught in the east.
Ukraine has criticized France, Germany and, to a lesser extent Italy, for alleged hesitations in their support for Kyiv, accusing them of being slow to deliver weapons.
The visit comes a day before the European Commission is slated to release its assessment of Ukraine's application for European Union membership. In the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion, Kyiv has been pushing for a fast-track process to membership.
The four leaders, who traveled to Kyiv by train, earlier walked through the ruins of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the scene of heavy fighting at the start of the invasion.
Russian troops have been accused of committing war crimes in Irpin.
"Irpin, like Bucha, has become a symbol of the unimaginable cruelty of the Russian war, of senseless violence," Scholz said on Twitter. "The brutal destruction of this city is a warning: this war must end."
Draghi, surrounded by the wreckage, said: "They destroyed kindergartens, they destroyed playgrounds. Everything will be rebuilt," he promised. "We will rebuild everything."
In reaction to the EU leaders' visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned against new Western weapons supplies to Ukraine.
"I would like to hope that the leaders of these three states and the president of Romania will not only focus on supporting Ukraine by further pumping Ukraine with weapons," Peskov told reporters.
On the battlefield, the head of Ukraine's military said Russia had concentrated its main strike forces in the north of the Luhansk region and that they were trying to attack simultaneously in nine directions.
"The fierce struggle for Luhansk region continues," Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said in an online message. The Russians were using aircraft, rocket-propelled grenades, and artillery, Zaluzhny added.
Fighting for Syevyerodonetsk has raged for weeks as Russia advances in the Donbas region. Capturing Syevyerodonetsk -- the largest city in Luhansk still under Ukrainian control -- would allow Moscow's forces to advance on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk further west.
The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin early on June 16 that, while the situation continues to be extremely difficult for the defenders of Syevyerodonetsk, Ukraine has probably managed to withdraw a large proportion of its combat troops who were originally holding the town.
The British intelligence also pointed to the likely difficulties Russia has in replenishing its troops fallen on the battleground.
"As claimed by the Ukrainian authorities, some Russian Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs) -- typically established at around 600 to 800 personnel -- have been able to muster as few as 30 soldiers," the bulletin said.
It added that Moscow’s advantage in numbers of tanks and artillery becomes less relevant in the urban-warfare environment, slowing the Russian forces' advance.
U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on June 15 that despite Russian forces outnumbering and outgunning the Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, Russian consolidation of their control in eastern Ukraine was “not a done deal.”
Milley, quoted by CNN, said “the numbers clearly favor the Russians.” But he added, “There are no inevitabilities in war. War takes many, many turns. So I wouldn’t say it’s an inevitability.”
The United Nations has warned that some 12,000 civilians remain trapped in Syevyerodonetsk with essential supplies running out, and many of them are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city's Azot chemical plant.
"The lack of water and sanitation is a big worry. It's a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water," UN Humanitarian Affairs office spokesman Saviano Abreu told the BBC, adding that food and medical supplies were also running out in the city.
Russia had told Ukrainian defenders holed up in the Azot chemical plant in the city to give up their "senseless resistance and lay down arms" early on June 15, promising a humanitarian corridor for the civilians sheltering in the plant together with the fighters.
Kyiv has ignored the ultimatum.
The United States on June 15 announced additional weapons packages for Ukraine valued at around $1 billion.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he informed Zelenskiy about the assistance in a phone call.
The weapons packages include 18 howitzers, 36,000 rounds of ammunition for them, two Harpoon coastal defense systems, artillery rockets, secure radios, thousands of night-vision devices, and funding for training, the Pentagon said.
Zelenskiy has called both for more heavy weapons and further EU sanctions against Russia.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, BBC, CNN, and AFP
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