7:18 p.m. ET, February 9, 2023
It's nighttime in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude for all of the
support his country has received so far from the European Union at a summit held in Belgium on Thursday. During the meeting he also
appealed for EU membership, called for more modern tanks and long-range missiles for Kyiv. Later Thursday, King Philippe of Belgium
held an audience with Zelensky at the Royal Palace in Brussels.
Here are more developments:
Zelensky's Brussels visit. Speaking ahead of the special EU meeting in Brussels, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas proposed an EU procurement of weapons for Ukraine, which would be similar to
EU’s vaccine procurement. Kallas said the move would speed up deliveries to Ukraine. The summit opened with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who emphasized the EU's support for Ukraine. Then, after meeting with Zelensky in Brussels, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said discussions about supplying Ukraine with
Western fighter jets were taking place “behind closed doors,” and declined to make a strong indication either way on the potential for his country to send aircraft.
Zoltan Kovacs, the Hungarian secretary of state for international communication, also met with Zelensky in Brussels. Kovacs said Hungary will continue to provide humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine.
Battlefront updates. Russian forces have intensified their offensive efforts in the Luhansk region over the past week, with a slight
increase in operations near Kupyansk and Lyman, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said Russia is on the offensive in the Luhansk region, though without “much success” so far. According to a
new investigative report obtained exclusively by CNN, Iran appears to be modifying the
attack drones that it’s providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine.
Military supplies. Marek Magierowski, the Polish ambassador to the United States, voiced a sense of urgency Thursday to arm Ukraine for a
new Russian offensive. Former Russian President and Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation
Dmitry Medvedev said Russia will increase production of
main battle tanks in response to supplies of the advanced armored vehicles to Ukraine. Poland has offered to send military planes to Ukraine, provided other NATO allies do as well. The British defense secretary said Thursday that training Ukrainian pilots would likely be about improving
“post-conflict” resiliency. German arms manufacturer
Rheinmetall AG is in negotiations with Ukraine, with the view of exporting its state-of-the-art Panther battle tank to Kyiv, CEO Armin Papperger said in an interview Thursday.