France, Germany reiterate Europe's 'full support' for Ukraine, US speeds up arms deliveries

The leaders of France and Germany have reiterated Europe's full support for Ukraine. This comes as members of the UN security council prepare to meet for the 16th time since the Russian invasion to address the worsening situation.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that Ukraine has the "full support" of Europe as they visited Berlin's symbolically important Brandenburg Gate on Monday, 

Asked about the message he wanted to send with the leaders' visit, Macron replied "full support for Ukraine" as he and Scholz approached around 200 people gathered nearby.

Some were draped in Ukraine's blue and yellow national colours and chanted the name of "Mariupol", a southeastern Ukrainian city that has been devastated by Russian air strikes.

The Brandenburg Gate formed a central part of the wall that separated east and west Berlin. It symbolised the Cold War's "Iron Curtain" that divided the world into capitalist and communist blocs.

Macron's visit coincided with Europe Day. Among the other issues discussed was the question of admitting new members into the European Union was discussed.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz  welcomed Macron's suggestion for a wider European club of countries beyond the EU that could include Ukraine or Britain, rather than pursuing a fast-track membership process that "could take decades", according to Macron.

Deterioration of humanitarian situation

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is expected to hold a new public meeting on Thursday on Russia's war in Ukraine, in light of the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, diplomats said.

The session, requested by France and Mexico, will be the 16th held by the Security Council since the Russian invasion of 24 February as part of an effort by western states to maintain pressure on Russia, which as a permanent member of the council has the power to block measures it disapproves of.

France and Mexico have requested briefings from the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), a diplomat said.

The meeting comes after the bombing at the weekend of a school in eastern Ukraine, in which 60 civilians were killed, according to Kyiv.

• Zelensky blames Russia for 60 civilian deaths; G7 rallies behind Ukraine

It will be held on the same day as an extraordinary session in Geneva of the UN Human Rights Council, requested by Ukraine, on "the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine."

The new Security Council meeting will follow the adoption last Friday of a unanimous Security Council statement, initiated by Norway and Mexico, offering "strong support" to the UN Secretary General in his search for "a peaceful solution" to the conflict.

That first demonstration of unity since the invasion began won the support of Moscow, which had hitherto blocked the initiatives of the Security Council.

World War II measure

Meanwhile, as Russia stepped up its fight to seize Ukraine's east over the weekend, US President Joe Biden resurrected a World War II measure to aid Kyiv, opening the spigots on artillery, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank weapons and other powerful Western materiel.

The United States has sent some $4 billion in military aid to Ukraine already but "caving to aggression is even more costly," Biden said as he signed the act, passed with unusual bipartisan support.

The Pentagon also said Monday it has seen indications that those caught up in Russia's invasion are being forcibly removed from their homeland.

"I can't speak to how many camps or what they look like," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters when asked about statements from Kyiv that some 1.2 million Ukrainians were being sent across the border and placed in camps.

Russian forces intensified their fight in Ukraine's east and fired missiles over the port city of Odessa on Monday.

The southern city was hit by a series of missiles, destroying buildings, setting ablaze a shopping centre and killing one person, its city council said, just hours after a visit by European Council President Charles Michel.

(with wires)