Defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom are set to meet in Paris on Monday to discuss additional support for Ukraine, European defence and the regional conflict in the Middle East, according to French officials, Al Jazeera reported. At their previous meeting in Berlin in June, the five major European powers pledged continued support for Ukraine, seeking to send a clear signal to Moscow that Europe remains firmly behind Kyiv.
Source: Al Jazeera via Bytes Europe, Oct 26
Europe's five biggest defence spenders are set to warn that Russia represents the most acute and long-term threat to the continent's security as they pledge unflagging support for Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing a draft joint statement from the E5 seen by Bloomberg. The statement, whose language could change before publication, is expected to be released after the Paris meeting hosted by French defence minister Catherine Vautrin and attended by her counterparts from the other four countries, Bloomberg reported. The draft statement is not yet a final published text.
Source: Bloomberg via Europe Says, Oct 26
What the draft says — and the battlefield backdrop
"Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, on the one hand, and its continued violations of Allied airspace, acts of sabotage and growing use of multi-domain hybrid attacks, on the other, do not undermine our unity, solidarity and cohesion," the draft said, according to Bloomberg. The ministers also plan to say Europe "must assume greater responsibility for its own security," while highlighting that the US will remain an "indispensable ally" and that this greater responsibility must begin with the empowerment of European allies within NATO, the draft said. "We will maintain our unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine in its fight back against Russian aggression," the draft added, according to Bloomberg.
Source: Bloomberg via Europe Says, Oct 26
The meeting comes as attacks escalate: a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia injured four people on Monday morning, according to regional Governor Mykhailo Semikin, while a Ukrainian drone attack on Voronezh killed two people and wounded 17, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said, Al Jazeera reported — each side's claims attributed to its own officials. In an interview aired on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said for Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which US President Donald Trump has demanded, Moscow must stop hitting Ukraine's power infrastructure, Al Jazeera reported. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November.