Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘Don’t worry,’ EU foreign affairs chief tells Ukrainians as ministers focus on Middle East | Ukraine

Latvia’s foreign minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, told reporters this morning that “we have to open up our eyes and realise that Russia will not stop its war in Ukraine – the only way that Russia will stop is if it’s actively stopped.”

He added:

The Ukrainians are willing to put up the fight. The Ukrainians need our western, undivided support – European Union support.

So we have to come finally to the decision to make sure that we have the funding for Ukraine for the coming years, so they can continue to sustain their government.

And we also have to make sure that we provide the weapons and the ammunition that they need in order to do this task.

For anyone who thinks that it’s expensive to support Ukraine, that this money is better spent elsewhere, I can only say it will only get more expensive in the future. If we do not help Ukraine stop Russia now, it will be only all the more expensive for us later, because Russia will not stop.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a video posted on social media this morning that he is submitting a draft legislative proposal allowing the “introduction of multiple citizenship.”

It will allow all ethnic Ukrainians and their descendants from around the world to have our citizenship. Of course, except for citizens of the aggressor country.

All those who, during various emigration waves, were forced to leave their homeland and ended up in Europe, the United States, Canada, countries of Asia and Latin America.

All those who help us despite being hundreds and thousands of kilometres away from their homeland.

Foreign volunteers who took up arms to defend Ukraine, all those who fight for Ukraine’s freedom as if it were their homeland. And Ukraine will become such for them.

Arriving at the foreign affairs’ meeting this morning in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said: “The fact that we are engaged [in] looking for a solution in the Middle East doesn’t mean that we are not continuing supporting Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister is expected to speak at today’s session via videoconference.

Don’t worry, don’t worry, Ukrainians have not to worry – European support continues as stronger as ever, and it will continue.

Here are the things to know on Monday 22 January:

• EU foreign affairs ministers are meeting today in Brussels. They will have an informal videoconference with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and are expected to discuss the future of European support for Kyiv.

• Ukraine has said this morning that Russian forces overnight attacked with eight Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which were all shot down. The attacks took place across southern and central areas of Ukraine.

• The UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.

• At least 25 people were killed and 20 injured when shelling hit a suburban shopping area in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to local officials, who said shells were fired by the Ukrainian military. Ukraine’s Tavria military units fighting in the area denied they attacked the market, and Russia’s claims could not be independently verified.

• A fire that broke out at a chemical transport terminal near St Petersburg in Russia, after two explosions on Sunday was due to an attack by Ukrainian drones, the BBC reported. An official source in Kyiv told the BBC that the “special operation” of the SBU security service masterminded the attack at Ust-Luga port with drones that were “on target”.

• Russia’s capture of the village of Krokhmalne in the Kharkiv region is a “temporary phenomenon”, the Ukrainian ground forces command spokesperson, Volodymyr Fityo, said. Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday, in its morning summary, that Russian forces had taken control of the village.

• Russia has lost approximately 376,030 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces claimed on Sunday. The number, which has not been independently verified, includes 760 casualties over the past day.

• North Korea is Russia’s largest arms supplier at present, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. In the interview, Budanov also said Moscow was losing as many or more troops than it can recruit and that the Wagner group still exists, despite reports saying it had been dismantled.

• Europe needs to “step up” and provide more funding for Ukraine, the UK’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has said. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Shapps said: “Europe needs to step up and do their part to make sure that Ukraine can continue to defend herself.”

• Russian forces struck Zaporizhzhia region 95 times across 16 localities in the last day, reported the Kyiv Independent, citing regional governor Yurii Malashko. He said a 71-year-old man was injured in Huliaipole due to artillery shelling, where there were also two reports of destroyed residential buildings.

• Slovakia’s new culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, has reversed a ban on cooperating with Belarus and Russia, reports the Kyiv Independent, citing an article by the Slovakian publication Pravda. Pravda reported that leaked documents showed the reversal would be effective from 22 January.

• Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk believes that tennis has forgotten the war in Ukraine and she hopes that the success of Ukrainian women at the Australian Open will generate further attention for the issue.