LIVE – War in Ukraine: Europeans pessimistic about Kiev's chances of victory

European citizens are pessimistic about Ukraine's chances of winning a war against Russia, and a negotiated settlement between the two countries is the most likely outcome, according to a poll of twelve EU countries published on Wednesday.

According to a survey conducted in January for the European Council on International Relations (ECFR), only 10% of those questioned predicted victory for Ukraine on the ground.

Some 20% are optimistic about Russia, while 37% believe the war will end in the form of a “reconciliation” between the two countries. Poland, Sweden and Portugal are the most optimistic about Ukraine's chances of victory, while Greece, Hungary and Italy are the most pessimistic.

Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the PCF, pleaded on Wednesday for Ukraine to take the neutrality stance that Moscow has demanded, rather than join the EU and NATO, and called for Europeans to build “collective security”.

As the war in Ukraine entered its third year at the weekend, the leader of the communists insisted that “everything must be done to stop this militant escalation”. To do this, “we cannot grant Ukraine's request to join the EU and NATO. This is not possible,” he said.

Fabian Rousselle underlined that France and the European Union “are right to help an occupied country”, while London, Berlin and Paris signed bilateral security agreements with Kyiv a few days ago.

Days before the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday new sanctions against Russia, the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union announced.

A draft text seen by AFP specifically plans to restrict trade by EU companies with three major Chinese companies that have supplied the Russian military and blacklist North Korea's defense minister for sending missiles to Moscow.

The Ukrainian military on Wednesday denied it had lost control of its grungy bridgehead on the occupied banks of the Dnieper in southern Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had said had been captured earlier in the day.

“The military and political leadership of the occupying country announced the capture of the bridge on the left bank of the Dnieper River. We officially state that this information is false,” the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on social networks.

The Italian leadership of the G7 announced on Tuesday a meeting dedicated to Ukraine through a video conference of its leaders, which should decide on the tightening of economic sanctions against Russia.

The meeting, attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky, is the first of the heads of state and government of the G7 member states (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada) under the Italian presidency. At the end of the one and a half hour meeting in the afternoon, a joint declaration on Ukraine should be adopted, according to Italian diplomatic sources.

According to the same sources, the participants will have to decide on “tightening the sanctions regime”. “The EU will launch a new set of sanctions and the US will also agree to tighten its sanctions.”

Important events in the last 24 hours:

• In southern Ukraine, Russia said on Tuesday it had recaptured the village of Kringi on the occupied banks of the Dnieper. Responding to a question from the Russian president during a meeting between the two men, Sergei Shoigu assured that “Krinki has been cleaned up and we actually control the entire bank.” Ukrainian forces have been trying to gain ground on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region for months.

• Ukrainian military headquarters on Tuesday noted no less than 84 Russian strikes in the past 24 hours, all of which he assured had been “returned”. While Russian operations around Avdiivka were significantly reduced, numerous offensives took place near Mariinka (east), Pakmud (east) and the Zaporizhia region (south). “The situation is very difficult at many points on the front line,” Mr. Zelensky agreed Monday evening. He said Russian troops were “taking advantage of the delay in aid to Ukraine” because the country has lost vital $60 billion in US military aid, currently blocked in Congress.

• On an almost daily basis the Russians are still shelling places beyond the front. A mother, her two children and their grandmother and another woman were killed when a Russian Lancet attack drone exploded in their home in the Sumy region (northeast), according to the Ukrainian military. Finally, anti-aircraft defenses destroyed 23 Shahed explosive drones of Iranian design, launched by Russia in different parts of Ukraine during the night from Monday to Tuesday.

• Two French humanitarian workers killed in southeastern Ukraine in early February were the victims of a “deliberate attack” carried out by drones, the Swiss NGO they worked for said on Tuesday. A team of six collaborators from the Swiss Protestant Entreide (Epper, Hex in German) was attacked while assessing the humanitarian situation in the area around the town of Perislav on the north bank of the Dnieper River. .

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to events in Ukraine.