Russia ‘trying to bomb and freeze’ Ukrainians to submission, EU’s foreign policy chief warns – Europe live

From 3h ago 08.55 GMT Russia 'trying to bomb and freeze' Ukrainians into submission, EU's foreign policy chief warns Arriving for the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they had a “very package agenda” for today, as “the international rules-based order [remains] under … strain.” EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas at the start of a Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA She said the ministers will discuss the evolving EU-US relationship, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Middle East, among others. On Ukraine specifically, she said that the Russian delegation in the UAE talks continued to represent only military personnel, with “no mandate to agree on anything,” questioning whether Russia is genuinely committed to the peace process. “They are bombing Ukrainians, trying to bomb and freeze them to surrender, and that’s why we are also discussing the energy support that we can give them, because it’s very hard winter and Ukrainians are really suffering. There is a humanitarian catastrophe coming there,” she said. She added: “My worry is that we have seen a lot of concessions also on the Ukrainian side, but that is blurring the picture, because Ukraine is not the one who is doing the aggression. It’s Russia who is doing this. So we should put more pressure on Russia so that we would see concessions on the Russian side.” She also played down the idea of “a European army,” saying that it remained to be a domain for national authorities and hierarchies. “In military you have to have a very straight and understandable chain of command, so that whenever something happens, it’s clear who gives orders to whom. If we create parallel structures, then it’s just going to blur the picture,” she said. On the Middle East, the main topic is the situation in Iran, with a discussion on listing the Iran Revolutionary Guard on the EU’s terrorism list, “putting them on the same footing with Al Qaeda, Hamas, Daesh.” “If you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as terrorists,” she said. Share Updated at 09.23 GMT

20m ago 11.06 GMT EU plans to spend €145m on aid for Ukraine amid worsening humanitarian situation The European Union has announced plans to spend €145m on aid for Ukraine “to provide protection assistance, shelter, food, cash assistance, psychosoc