Ukraine updates: Germany, Poland, France meet on Ukraine

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland want to work together to tackle Russian disinformation efforts.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Poland's Radoslaw Sikorski in Paris. 

"Russia is trying to destroy European unity," Sejourne after the tripartite meeting, adding that almost 200 fake news sites have been discovered.

The ministers said they had created a joint mechanism to detect and respond to potential Russian internet attacks.

"These are attacks on our democracy," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that the European Union could not allow people's confidence to be undermined.

She also said Germany, France and Poland want to move forward on a unified European defense and security architecture.

They envisaged joint procurement and joint projects in the defense sector, while also closely pooling operational capabilities.

"If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin believes that our strength is dwindling and our support is waning, he is completely mistaken," 
Baerbock said. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said that the defense sector could count on the government meeting its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on NATO defense.

Scholz made the comments while visiting the future site of Rheinmetall's arms factory in central Germany.

"We have to move away from manufacturing towards large-scale production of defence equipment," Scholz said.

"Not only the United States, but all European countries must do even more to support Ukraine. The pledges made so far are not enough. Germany's power alone is not enough."

The German chancellor's comments come after former US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that the United States would not protect fellow NATO members who are not spending enough on defense against a potential Russian invasion.

While in office, Trump was critical of countries that did not meet the NATO alliance's goal to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense.

Scholz said the military and Germany's defence industry could now depend on Berlin's commitment to meet the 2% NATO target.

"We do not live in peaceful times. Anyone who wants peace must successfully deter and need a solid industrial base for defense," Scholz posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The Kremlin imposed sanctions on 18 British nationals including several academics and experts on Russia.

"We are forced to state that Russophobically charged British representatives do not shy away trying to discredit the constitutional system and socio-political processes in our country," Russia's foreign ministry said.

"The so-called brain trusts operating on the basis of the largest British and Western educational institutions make a significant contribution to the subversive work of London in the Russian direction."

Personal sanctions were announced against British Deputy Defence Minister James Cartlidge, Deputy National Security Adviser Sarah MacIntosh and Director of Submarines Simon Asquith.

Stuart Peach, the British prime minister's special envoy to the Western Balkans, as well as Lords Dan Hannan and Michael Ashcroft, were also targeted.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Monday that there wasn't an alternative to Partnerships with European states, NATO and the US in the face of mounting security challenges.

"There is no alternative to the EU, NATO, transatlantic cooperation. Europe must become a safe continent, and this means that the European Union, France and Poland must become strong and ready to defend their own borders and to defend and support our allies and friends from outside the Union," Tusk said in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Tusk arrived in Paris for a short trip that will also see him travel to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The mini-visit is aimed at building a closer relationship with France and Germany as the war in Ukraine drags on into its third year.

"It is probably here in Paris that the words from 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas resonate most clearly: 'All for one, and one for all'," he said in reference to Dumas' novel.

Alongside Tusk's talks with Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, foreign ministers are meeting in Paris.

"Our strength lies in the fact that we in France, Poland and Germany look at our Europe from different perspectives," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said ahead of her arrival in Paris.

"People in Europe rightly expect that we will develop impulses from this," Baerbock said.

Russia on Monday denied that its forces were using Elon Mosk's Starlink satellite system, Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

On Sunday Ukraine said that Russian troops were using the system in the parts of Ukraine under their control.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is not a certified system with us; accordingly, it cannot be officially supplied here and is not officially supplied. Accordingly, it cannot be used officially in any way."

"That is why here, perhaps, we should not intrude into the discussion between the Kyiv regime and the entrepreneur Musk", he said, referring to Ukraine's government.

Musk said on Sunday said he was not aware of instances in which his system was being used by Russians.

In a post on X on Sunday, Musk said: "To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia."

"A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia," Musk said in the post on X, which he also owns. "This is categorically false."

Ukraine will produce thousands of long-range drones, capable of striking deep inside Russia according to a report citing the country's digital minister.

Reuters reported that Mykhailo Fedorov spoke about Kyiv's wartime drone industry in an interview in Kyiv in which he revealed new details about the sector.

"The category of long-range kamikaze drones is growing, with a range of 300, 500, 700, and 1,000 kilometers. Two years ago, this category did not exist ... at all," Fedorov told the Reuters news agency.

Fedorov has been at the center of the effort to grow Ukraine's military startups to help with innovation and build up the drone industry.

Some $2.5 million (€2.32 million) in grants were allocated to military tech startups via the BRAVE1 initiative established by the government last year — an amount set to be increased roughly tenfold in 2024 — he said.

Overall, more than 300,000 drones of different types were contracted last year and more than 100,000 were sent to the front, he said, adding that the figures did not cover volunteer supplies which Fedorov said made a "significant contribution."

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday heads to France and Germany as the three EU member states look for closer cooperation on challenges facing the region, including support for Ukraine.

Tusk will be meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with talks coming amid concern that support for Ukraine's defensive efforts against Russia's continued invasion is stalling.

Ukraine's air force on Monday said that air defense systems destroyed 14 out of 17 drones and one cruise missile, launched by Russia in overnight attacks.

The air force said in a post on the Telegram messaging service that Russia had also launched long-range surface to air missiles, but did not provide details on whether any targets were hit.

DW is unable to independently verify the information provided by Ukraine's air force.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have ramped up aerial attacks on each other's critical energy, military and transport infrastructure.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland are meeting near Paris to discuss the aid situation for Ukraine, among other issues.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock agrees with France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Poland's Radoslaw Sikorski that Ukraine must be helped to win the war against Russia.

The diplomats are looking to discuss matters under the format of the Weimar Triangle, established in 1991, to strengthen cooperation on cross-border and European issues.

The Weimar Triangle brings together three of the most populous and militarily strong EU members. The possible revival of the format coincides with the change of government in Warsaw that has seen former EU Council President Donald Tusk replace Mateusz Morawiecki from the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) as Prime Minister.

The talks are being held amid concern that support for Ukraine's defense against Russia, is beginning to wane.

kb/rc (AFP, AP, Reuters)