Western Leaders Gather In Brussels As Fierce Fighting Rages Across Ukraine

An extraordinary NATO meeting is under way in Brussels — the first of three exceptional summits scheduled on March 24 by Western leaders to map out the next steps in efforts to stop Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as fierce fighting continues in the besieged city of Mariupol and other flash points across the country.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who is attending the NATO meeting and is then scheduled to take part in a European Union summit as well as a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, is expected to use the occasion to announce more sanctions against Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy was also due to address Western leaders via video link from his besieged capital of Kyiv as the war passed the one-month mark on the morning of March 24.

In a video message late on March 23, Zelenskiy called on the world’s democracies to unite in the face of Russia’s “crude and cruel” force, accusing the invaders of atrocities against civilians and warning the West that freedom must take precedence over economic interests.

“At these three summits, we will see who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for money. Life can be defended only when united,” he said.

Russian ground forces slowed or stopped in their tracks by Western-armed Ukrainian troops are resorting to indiscriminately shelling military and civilian targets alike from a distance.

Speaking ahead of the NATO summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” with his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said leaders at the meeting will discuss “the need for a reset of our deterrence and defense in the longer term.”

NATO has already said it will double the number of deployments it has in Europe by adding four more. The new installments will be located in Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, said on March 24 that Russia is stalling in talks on a cease-fire in Ukraine and won’t take the discussions seriously until it has reached its goals.

A senior U.S. defense official said on March 23 that Moscow’s ground forces appear to be setting up defensive positions 15 to 20 kilometers outside Kyiv as they make little to no progress toward the city center.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in some areas east of Kyiv, Ukrainian troops appear to have pushed the Russians farther away.

In an interview with Spain’s TVE broadcast on March 24, Borrell said Russian President Vladimir Putin has his eyes on surrounding the Black Sea coast to the border with Moldova in order to isolate Ukraine from the water.

“Right now, Russia doesn’t want to sit and negotiate anything. What it wants is to occupy the ground,” Borrell said. “It wants to negotiate in earnest only when it has secured a position of strength.”

Biden is scheduled to give a news conference after the March 24 meetings, then head to Poland for talks with leaders in that country, which has taken on the bulk of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the fighting.

The UN General Assembly is preparing to meet on March 24 to discuss the war in Ukraine and a draft humanitarian resolution written by Kyiv. Unlike in the Security Council — where Russia, along with other permanent members, holds veto power — no one country can block a resolution in the General Assembly.

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