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Estonia’s prime minister, Kristen Michal, has warned that Russia’s recent air incursions were an attempt to distract Europe from helping Ukraine, ahead of a summit with EU leaders. “Putin wants to have us talking about ourselves, not about Ukraine, not about helping Ukraine, not to push back Russia in Ukraine,” Michal told AFP in an interview in Copenhagen.
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EU leaders will discuss boosting their defences and support for Kyiv at talks in Denmark being held on Wednesday and Thursday under heightened security after mysterious drone flights rattled the country. Those incidents came after a series of high-profile airspace violations by Moscow in Russia’s neighbour Estonia and in Poland had already frayed nerves in Europe.
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Michal said he hoped the gathering in Copenhagen would send a strong message of “unity and resolve to back up Ukraine and never to let us be distracted on the main topic, which is the problem with Russia.” He said that Putin’s aggression has been a “miscalculation” as it has pushed Europe to get serious about arming itself in the face of the looming threat. “Europe is much stronger than it was six months or one year ago,” Michal said. “Europe was a project of peace but without arms. Now, Europe will be a project of peace but with arms.”
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One of the key priorities being pushed at the summit is a so-called “drone wall” of defences to protect the European continent by detecting and shooting down Russian drones. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea last month, just hours after some 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, although officials say it had been in the works before then. The EU has not yet produced a detailed plan, leaving open questions about the cost and practicalities. But Nato secretary general Mark Rutte praised the idea on Tuesday as “timely and necessary”.
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The summit will also be the first opportunity for leaders of the EU’s 27 countries to debate a proposal to use Russian assets frozen in Europe to fund a loan of 140bn euros to Ukraine. The European Commission last week proposed the “reparation loan” that would bolster Kyiv’s war effort just as US-funded military aid dwindles. “We are at a moment where decisive action on our side can lead to a turning point in this conflict,” von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Tuesday said the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been off the grid for seven straight days, warning of the potential threat of a “critical” situation. It is the longest outage at Zaporizhzhia since Russia invaded and seized the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest. Zelenskyy said Russian shelling was preventing restoration of a power line needed to cool the reactors and prevent a meltdown. “This is the seventh day. There has never before been such an emergency situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant. The situation is critical. Russian shelling has cut the plant off from the electricity network,” Zelenskyy said.
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Romania hopes to quickly set up production on its territory of defensive drones with Ukraine for domestic use as well as by EU and Nato allies, foreign minister Oana Toiu said. Toiu told Reuters that talks with Ukraine began before the spate of airspace incursions that the region has blamed on Russia. “We believe it is strategic for the eastern flank to be better protected, especially in air defence. So what we are doing in that direction is to create the partnerships needed, for example, with Ukraine to build defensive drones for the future,” she said. “We believe in our capacity to make it a reality fast.”
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Britain’s Princess Anne, the late Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, has visited Ukraine to express her solidarity with children and families enduring the impact of the war. Anne met Zelenskyy during her visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, where they discussed Britain’s ongoing support for Ukraine, among other issues. The royal also paid her respects at a memorial honouring the children who have died in the conflict, and visited a rehabilitation centre where she met veterans returning from the frontline. Anne’s visit to Ukraine follows that of her nephew Prince Harry, who travelled to Kyiv earlier this month with a team from his Invictus Games Foundation to highlight the charity’s plans to support the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.
