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

The European Union's approaches to Ukraine and Russia were key topics when Kaja Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, faced questions from European Union parliamentarians in her quest for appointment to the European Commission on Tuesday.

Kallas argued for European unity in the face of global turmoil, saying, "The world is on fire, so we have to stick together."

Kallas highlighted the importance of EU backing for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian invaders at the edge of the bloc.

Saying Europe and the United States could not sit idly by as Russia, North Korea and Iran outproduce them when it comes to munitions, Kallas implored parliamentarians, "We have to make the decisions now, when we are in peace times, in order to be ready when the situation comes." 

The Estonian politician also looked farther afield to point to the deeper root of the problem in Ukraine, China's support of Moscow's war effort.

"Without China's support to Russia, Russia would not be able to continue its war with the same force," she said.

In a nod to the incoming Trump administration in the US, Kallas said, "If the US is worried about China, or other actors, then they should also be worried about how we respond in Russia's war against Ukraine."

Kallas' appointment is seen as a foregone conclusion, yet rising tensions over other candidates threw Tuesday's proceedings into chaos with lawmakers ultimately deciding to delay the confirmation of Kallas as well as a handful of more controversial nominees.

About 700 Ukrainians living in Europe have signed up to join the Ukrainian Legion, a fighting force being formed abroad, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

Ukraine announced early last month that it had opened its first recruitment office in the Polish city of Lublin to encourage Ukrainians living abroad to enlist in the legion. 

The Defense Ministry said on social media that the Ukrainian consulate in Lublin "hosted the signing of contracts by the first group of Ukrainian citizens living abroad to serve in the Ukrainian Legion."

It did not specify how many had joined but added that the volunteers had gone "immediately" to undergo basic military training at a Polish army base. 

Last month, Ukraine announced it would aim to bolster its ranks by 160,000 people over the next three months. And earlier this year, Kyiv estimated that around 300,000 Ukrainians of combat age were living in Poland.  

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with NATO and European Union counterparts, the State Department said.

Blinken will hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday on how to boost support for Ukraine, as President-elect Donald Trump has suggested that US military assistance to the country fighting off Russian aggression could be severely curtailed after he takes office in January.

After less than a day in Brussels, Blinken will fly to Peru and Brazil to join outgoing President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 leading economies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address a special session of the European Parliament called to mark 1,000 days of war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy will join the plenary session on November 19 "for a special address from Ukraine," the EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola said as the 27-member bloc seeks to cement its support for Kyiv after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

"Proud to announce a European Parliament extraordinary Plenary Session on Tuesday 19 November, to mark 1000 days of the bravery and courage of the people of Ukraine," Metsola wrote on X.

EU officials have been at pains to stress that Brussels will continue to support Ukraine regardless of any potential changes in Washington's foreign policy.

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." 

 A court in Moscow has sentenced Nadezhda Buyanova, a pediatrician, to five and half years in a penal colony after the mother of a patient accused her of criticizing Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

She was convicted of spreading "fake" information about the military.

The case outraged hundreds of Russian doctors, some 6,000 of whom signed an open letter calling for her release.

Buyanova is one of 1,000 people who have been tried for "spreading false information" about the army since the invasion of Ukraine began.

According to rights groups, some 20,000 people have been detained for protesting.

The woman who accused Buyanova published video online that she purports is the doctor calling her child's father, who died in the war, a "legitimate target of Ukraine."

Buyanova has denied making the comment.

In his daily address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, said that Moscow had sent 50,000 troops to its southwestern region of Kursk.

According to independent estimates, only about 11,000 troops had been stationed there ahead of Ukraine's surprise offensive into the border region in August.

The president said "our troops continue to hold back" the "nearly 50,000 strong enemy group."

Zelenskyy implied that this meant the Kremlin had pulled its troops from fighting in other parts of Ukraine.

However, a recent investigation by the New York Times found that Russia has not needed to pull its troops from other regions in order to counter the Kursk offensive. Instead, it is said they are employing North Korean soldiers.

In July, Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi told the Guardian that Russia had a total of 520,000 troops in Ukraine, with a goal of reaching 690,000 by the end of the year.

Zelenskyy's statement comes a day after Pyongyang and Moscow signed a mutual defense treaty, promising to come to each other's aid in case of attack.

The European Union will back Ukraine "as long as it takes" to repel Russian troops in its territory, the bloc's  nominee for foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said at her confirmation hearing.

"The situation on the battlefield is difficult. And that's why we must keep working every day," said the former Estonian prime minister and hawkish Russia critic.

Kallas said the bloc's support "must be underpinned by a clear path for Ukraine to join the EU," warning that "what we fight for here is European security and European principles."

Brussels opened ascension negotiations with Kyiv in June, paving the way for Ukraine to join the EU once it meets all the criteria.

Europe has spent about $125 billion supporting Ukraine since the invasion began in 2022.

In Stary Oskol, a city in the western Russian border region of Belgorod, Ukrainians attacked a tank depot overnight, officials said. 

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that rescue workers were able to put out the fire started by the Ukrainian drone attack.

The Russian military reported at least 13 drone attacks in its territory in the early hours of the morning. Nine of them targeted Belgorod.

Kyiv has recently stepped up drone attacks targeting Russian equipment depots and logistics centers in an effort to hinder upcoming offensives. On Sunday, Ukraine used drones to launch its biggest attack on Moscow since the start of the war.

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, was in Beijing on Tuesday to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for joint defense talks.

Shoigu said that countering the US policy of "containment" against China and Russia was the most urgent task for both countries.

Over the past three years, Russia and China have strengthened their security ties, and Chinese President Xi Jinping is Russian President Vladimir Putin's most important ally on the world stage.

"The comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation (between China and Russia) represent a model of collaboration between two powers in today's world," Shoigu told Wang.

Shoigu is set to attend Airshow China later this week, which showcases Beijing's civil and military aircraft every two years in the southern city of Zhuhai.

Russia's most sophisticated military jet, the Su-57 stealth fighter, will make a display flight at the show.

Although Xi maintains that China is neutral in the Ukraine conflict, NATO allies have branded it a "decisive enabler" of Russian aggression. 

es/wmr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)