Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine says some European leaders promise aircraft

Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine says some European leaders promise aircraft

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had heard from several European Union leaders at a summit that they were

ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft, hinting at what would be one of the biggest shifts yet in Western support for Ukraine.

DIPLOMACY * Zelenskiy gave no further details about the pledges and there was no immediate confirmation from any European countries. But his remarks came amid signs during a European tour that countries were closer to lifting one of the main taboos in military aid for Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine.

* He spoke after joining for the first time the talks of all 27 national EU leaders in Brussels, part of his second trip abroad since Russia attacked his homeland almost one year ago, and one meant to get more arms from allies. * "Europe will be with us until our victory. I've heard it from a number of European leaders... about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft," Zelenskiy told a news conference. He did not name the countries.

Just before, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media that the question of long-range weaponry and fighter jets for Ukraine had been resolved and details would follow. He later edited his post to say the issue "may be resolved."

* While Zelenskiy said that "Free Europe cannot be imagined without free Ukraine", and despite all the cheers and standing ovations he received during his Brussels visit, he heard from European Council chief Charles Michel that the road to EU membership would be long and hard.

* Michel said: "The coming weeks and months will be of decisive importance. We must remain open-eyed, we must continue to provide maximum level support" to Ukraine. * Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said NATO must act together on jets for Ukraine.

* Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be Ukrainians who suffered if Britain or other Western countries supplied fighter jets to Kyiv, and that the line between indirect and direct Western involvement in the war was disappearing. NORD STREAM PIPELINES

* Russia's foreign ministry said European countries were trying to hide the results of their investigations into last year's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, accusing them of covering up who was to blame. * Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that U.S. divers blew up the pipelines at the behest of the White House. Reuters was unable to corroborate the allegations. The White House dismissed them as "utterly false and complete fiction".

FIGHTING * Russia said it had destroyed four Ukrainian artillery depots in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine's military said that over the past 24 hours Russian troops maintained offensives in the regions of Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Novopavlivka and Vuhledar.

* Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine's governor of mostly Russian-occupied eastern Luhansk province, described a major new Russian assault around Kreminna, along a northern stretch of the eastern front. * Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield accounts.

* Kyiv says it expects Moscow to broaden its offensive with a big push as the Feb. 24 anniversary of the invasion nears. QUOTES

* "France and Germany have the potential to be game changers and that's how I see our talks today," Zelenskiy said. "The sooner we get heavy long-range weapons and our pilots get modern planes ... the quicker this Russian aggression will end."

Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine says some European leaders promise aircraft
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