Ukraine news – live: Putin has lost nearly 200,000 troops in war, US officials say

Ukrainian President Zelensky is due to meet with Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, and Charles Michael, European Council President, in Kyiv on Friday along with 15 European commissioners. The meeting is being described as a summit.

The last time a similar meeting was held was in October 2021, a few months before Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, assistance for the Ukraine from the EU has amounted to around €50bn (£44.6bn).

Currently the EU is providing Ukraine with both humanitarian and financial aid. It is also planning its 10th round of sanctions against Russia, but Zelensky has criticised the pace of action.

Ukraine is pushing to join the 27-country-strong EU on an accelerated timescale as the process usually takes years. In the meantime, von der Leysen said the European Commission would be willing to let Ukraine join some “key European programs” which will still have a similar benefit to membership.

This will be discussed during today’s meeting.

Germany has now approved the delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine as the war continues.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit confirmed “an export licence has been issued” for delivery of its older Leopard 1 tanks.

Arms maker from Germany Rheinmetall’s hopes to sell 88 of its tanks for a total cost of 100 million euros.

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that deliveries of the tanks could happen as soon as they are repaired. They are still having issues obtaining the required 105-millimetre ammunition, however.

Russia is planning a major escalation of the war on February 24 to mark the anniversary of his invasion, according to President Zelensky’s top security official.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told The Times Russia is “obsessed by dates” and will try to tie anything they do to signifcant days “even at the cost of their own lives”.

Danilov said: “Starting with the revolution of 1917, they try to tie all their activities to special dates, to anniversaries. Even at the cost of their own lives, they will do everything to make these anniversaries. And the next they want to do it is February 24.”

Ukraine stepped up efforts Friday to lobby international sports leaders against Russian participation in next year’s Paris Olympics as indications mount that the games could see the biggest boycott since the Cold War.

A meeting of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee did not commit to a boycott but approved plans to consult with and persuade sports officials around the world over the next two months.

The committee members voted for “consultations on preventing the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in all international competitions and a possible boycott.”

Ukraine may be able to add old Leopard 1 battle tanks from German defense industry stocks to deliveries of modern tanks that Berlin and other governments pledged last week to counter Russian forces in the war.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed Friday that “export authorization has been granted” but declined to give numbers or other details, saying that they may become more concrete “in the coming days and weeks.” He told reporters in Berlin that the application from industry to permit delivery of Leopard 1 tanks had been made “some time” ago.

Hebestreit’s comments came after the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the government had cleared the export of the tanks and that they could be sent as soon as the defense industry gets them in working order.

Animal rescue volunteers in Ukraine have made it their mission to save cats and dogs that have been abandoned on the frontline.

Zoopatrul shared footage of their latest trip to “ghost town” Bohorodychne where they rescued animals “on the verge of survival.”

Volunteers said the abandoned pets have no chance of surviving the conditions without help.

They say they have saved more than 1,000 cats and dogs from war and human cruelty, and have no intentions of stopping.

You can donate to the cause through their Patron page, and they also share updates on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

The European Union’s next package of sanctions against Russia will hit the trade and technology that supports its war against Ukraine, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.

“Our 9 packages of sanctions are biting, and a 10th one is on its way. With our partners, we must deny Russia the means to kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy homes and offices,” von der Leyen tweeted from Kyiv.

“New measures will hit the trade and technology that supports Russia’s war machine.”

European Union member states have agreed on a proposal to set price caps on Russian oil products, the Swedish presidency of the bloc has said.

EU diplomats said the price caps agreed by ambassadors for the 27 EU countries are $100 per barrel on premium oil products such as diesel and a $45 cap per barrel on discounted products such as fuel oil.

The proposal by the European Commission is that they apply from Sunday.

The United States has said that precision-guided rockets and HAWK air defence firing units will be part of a $2.175bn package of military aid for Ukraine.

New tanks supplied by Nato countries will serve as an “iron fist” in a counteroffensive by Kyiv to break through Russian defensive lines, Ukraine’s defence minister has said.

Speaking at a press conference alongside his Polish counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov said that Western supplies of 155-mm artillery would also be crucial for Ukraine to weather Russia’s own attacks in the south and in the east.

“The new tank coalition with the main tanks of Nato countries – we need this for the counteroffensive, we will use it like an iron fist to break through their defensive lines,” he said.

You can read more about the tanks here.