European Defence Ministers Meet in Paris for Ukraine Support Discussion

Defence Ministers from Five European Countries to Meet in Paris

Defence ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK will gather in Paris on Monday to discuss military assistance for Ukraine amid ongoing attacks between Ukrainian and Russian forces. The meeting is part of a broader effort to provide additional support for Ukraine.

According to regional Governor Mykhailo Semikin, a Russian strike on Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia injured four people on Monday morning. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Voronezh killed two people and wounded 17, according to regional Governor Alexander Gusev.

In Ukraine, two more people were injured in Russian strikes on the Chernihiv region, as reported by Ukraine’s emergency service. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed its forces hit a power station in Kharkiv, a nearby warehouse, and another power station in the Khmelnytskyi region.

The ministry also stated that Russian forces targeted port infrastructure in Chornomorsk in southwestern Ukraine and a cargo vessel en route to Odesa. The attack on Voronezh was said to have caused fires at several industrial businesses, a business centre, and a residential building.

Defence ministers from the five European countries will discuss military support for Ukraine, as well as European defence and regional conflicts. At their previous meeting in Berlin in June, the five major European powers pledged continued support for Ukraine.

Ukraine has requested that Russia stop hitting its power infrastructure in exchange for allowing the use of Starshield over Russia to detect missile launch sites or supplying Ukraine with Patriot missiles. The US President Donald Trump has also demanded that Kyiv halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in the first half of November.

Source: Al Jazeera