Russia-Ukraine war live: Britain and France will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, says UK’s foreign secretary | Ukraine

Britain and France will continue to be “staunch supporters” of Ukraine for as long as it takes, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said after a meeting with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, in Paris.

Cameron has urged the west to be patient about the pace of Ukraine military advances.

In Ukraine, concern has grown about global support, with conflict in the Middle East taking attention away from the country, and longer-term questions about western financial backing as the US heads into an election cycle.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

The White House has warned that the US has only enough authorised funding for one more aid package to Ukraine this year before Congress will be required to greenlight new contributions.

Washington has committed more than $43bn in military assistance to ally Ukraine since Moscow launched its deadly full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

But hardline US Republicans in Congress, who complain that the Biden administration is prioritising contributions to Kyiv over addressing domestic problems such as border security, have all but blocked new funding.

“We have … one more aid package here before our replenishment authority dries up,” national security council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday, referring to the congressionally approved system by which the Pentagon replaces its donated weapons and equipment.

In other developments:

• Ukraine’s top general issued his strongest criticism to date of Volodymr Zelenskiy’s decision to fire all of Ukraine’s regional military recruitment heads in August in a corruption crackdown, Interfax Ukraine reported. Asked by reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday about whether the decision affected mobilisation levels, the armed forces’ commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, bemoaned the recruitment chiefs’ sacking. “These were professionals, they knew how to do this, and they are gone,” Interfax Ukraine cited him as saying.

• Zaluzhnyi also said the situation on the frontline of the war had not reached a stalemate, despite comments published last month in which he described the war as moving towards a new stage of static and attritional fighting. Asked on Monday whether he considered the battlefield situation a stalemate, Zaluzhnyi replied “No”, Ukraine’s RBC media reported.

• Zaluzhnyi declined to comment on whether Ukraine plans counteroffensive operations over winter. “This is a war, I can’t say what I plan, what we should do. Otherwise, it will be a show, not a war,” he was quoted as saying.

• Finland signed an agreement to enhance military cooperation with the US, saying it saw a long-term threat from Russia, a day after Russia issued a warning over Helsinki’s recent entrance into Nato.

• The EU adopted a new package of sanctions on Russia that include an import ban on Russian diamonds, officials said. The package is the 12th packet of sanctions levelled at Moscow since it launched its invasion of Ukraine.

• The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the new sanctions would “truly reduce” Russia’s economic foundation for war. The sanctions are designed to reduce Russia’s access to revenues, metals and technology used to sustain its war effort.

• The EU will hold an extraordinary summit on 1 February to discuss its multi-annual budget, including funding for Ukraine, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said. EU leaders agreed last week to open membership talks with Ukraine, but they could not agree on a 50bn euro ($54.6bn) package of financial aid for Kyiv due to opposition from Hungary.

• The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has urged traditionally male professions to employ more women to reduce major labour shortages exacerbated by thousands of soldiers being called up to fight in Ukraine. “Girls represent a huge reserve for Russia. In sectors where they are not yet working, they need to exploit their potential to the fullest,” Putin said.

• Russia has placed the renowned detective novelist Grigory Chkhartishvili – known under the pen name Boris Akunin – on its list of individuals identified as terrorists or extremists for his criticism of Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Chkhartishvili, 67, has long been critical of Putin.

• The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will discuss topics including Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East with the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, on Tuesday, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.

• The Moldovan prime minister, Dorin Recean, said Moscow was the country’s biggest security threat, and that an upgraded anti-aircraft defence system was needed to counter threats from Russia. “If the Kremlin decides to attack us, just what are we going to do?” Recean told a TV8 interviewer. “Neutrality will not protect Moldova.”

• Polish truckers resumed their blockade of one of the main crossings at the Ukrainian border, a protest leader said, a week after it was temporarily lifted. Polish drivers have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine since 6 November, demanding that the EU reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers to enter Ukraine.