Ukraine updates: Kyiv says 50,000 Russians combating in Kursk

NATO chief Mark Rutte called on Western countries to step up support for Ukraine in its fight against full-scale Russia’s invasion.

“We must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight,” Rutte told reporters ahead of talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We need to raise the cost for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his enabling and authoritarian friends by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict,” he added.

Rutte encouraged Europe, North America and their global partners to stand together. 

“We have to keep our trans-atlantic alliance strong,” he said.

The NATO chief also expressed concern at the support Iran, North Korea and China were giving Russia in its war against Ukraine: “Russia, working together with North Korea, Iran and China, is not only threatening Europe, it threatens peace and security. Yes, here in Europe, but also in the Indo-Pacific and North America.”

Speaking alongside Rutte,  Macron renewed his calls for Europe to assume more responsibility for its own defense, saying it had for “too long avoided bearing the burden of its own security.” 

“Nothing should be decided about Ukraine without the Ukrainians, nor about Europe without the Europeans,” Macron said, adding that “building up homegrown military capacity would be “a long-term effort.”