Stocker Ahead of Paris Ukraine Summit: Kyiv Should Enter from a "Position of Strength"

According to Federal Chancellor Stocker, Austria holds observer status in the "Coalition of the Willing" due to its constitutional provisions and its neutrality. At the beginning of the year, the coalition led by France and Great Britain agreed in a Paris declaration to provide Ukraine with a legally binding assurance that it would not be left alone in the event of another Russian attack.

German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also taking part in the deliberations. He had confirmed his participation in the Paris consultations. According to information from Paris, the topics include further support and security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as the question of how Kyiv can be strengthened in possible negotiations with Moscow.

Attacks on Ports and Ships

In the run-up to the summit, the situation on the front lines and in the rear areas continued to escalate. In a Russian air attack on a foreign cargo ship near Odessa, at least three crew members were killed according to information from Kyiv. Five other people on the ship, which was flagged to Togo, were injured. The ship was hit while unloading mineral fertilizer in a Black Sea port near Odessa.

The Ukrainian agricultural concern Kernel announced that it had suspended operations at its port facilities in Chornomorsk on the Black Sea following severe damage from Russian missile and drone attacks. Between Friday and Sunday, storage and transshipment facilities were damaged, including facilities for grain and sunflower oil. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the attacks on the port of Chornomorsk had hit infrastructure used for Ukrainian military goods.

In parallel, Ukraine attacked targets in Russia. According to Russian authorities, four people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region; according to Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov, a further three people were killed in Istra west of Moscow when a drone crashed. Another fatality was reported from the western Russian region of Belgorod.

Diplomatic Tensions Between Berlin and Moscow

The Russian military reported that 349 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight, and that air defenses had also engaged 81 drones over the Moscow region. In the Stavropol region in southern Russia, a fire broke out in an industrial area according to Governor Vladimir Vladimirov. According to Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi, Ukrainian drones hit 15 Russian ships in the Sea of Azov overnight, seven of which were tankers. The total number of Russian ships hit in the past eight days has risen to 105.

The diplomatic tit-for-tat between Berlin and Moscow also continued. The Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned the German ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff — one day before the end of his term of service in Russia. Lambsdorff was subsequently due to take up his new post as ambassador in Israel. Prior to this, the German Foreign Office had summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin, Sergei Nechayev, to discuss malicious cyber activities originating from Russia. A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry described these as „inakzeptabel". Clemens von Goetze is slated to be the new German ambassador in Russia.

Patriot Ammunition as a Point of Contention

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue of a former commander of the 155th Mechanized Brigade who, according to his account, was arrested. He declared: „Es ist für das ganze Land wichtig, die vollständige Wahrheit herauszufinden und alle Verantwortlichen zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen." Zelensky simultaneously renewed his demand for new ammunition for Patriot air defense systems. Patriot is considered the most effective weapon against Russian ballistic missiles, but ammunition is becoming scarcer — among other reasons because the USA and Israel have used many Patriot missiles in the Iran war.

On the margins of the Paris meeting, according to information from Vienna, participating countries will tomorrow take part with soldiers in the military parade for the French national holiday. This year, a contingent of the Austrian Armed Forces is also taking part, consisting of 23 guardsmen.

The deliberations are taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing war of attrition and reciprocal attacks. Stocker had made clear that the aim was for Ukraine to enter from a „Position der Stärke" before possible negotiations with Russia are initiated.